Inactive

NON-COMPETITIVE COMBINED SYNOPSIS / SOLICITATION Title: Acquisition of a BlueCatBio BlueWasher and accessories to support ACTIV-Trace (i) This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items ... NON-COMPETITIVE COMBINED SYNOPSIS / SOLICITATION Title: Acquisition of a BlueCatBio BlueWasher and accessories to support ACTIV-Trace (i) This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6 as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. (ii) The solicitation number is 75N95022Q00147 and the solicitation is issued as a request for quotation (RFQ). This acquisition is for a commercial item or service and is conducted under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13—Simplified Acquisition Procedures; and FAR Part 12—Acquisition of Commercial Items, and is not expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold. THIS IS A NON-COMPETITIVE (NOTICE OF INTENT) COMBINED SYNOPSIS SOLICITATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT OR PURCHASE ORDER WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME). The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Office of Acquisition (OA), on behalf of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), intends to negotiate and award a purchase order without providing for full and open competition (including brand-name) to BlueCatBio MA, Inc. for BlueCatBio BlueWasher and accessories. This acquisition is conducted as non-competitive for a commercial item or service and is conducted pursuant to FAR 13.106-1(b)(1). The rationale for the brand-name justification is that the BlueCatBio Blue Washer has an automated, centrifugation-based plate washer with dispensing system and gentle washing protocol that is not found in competing equipment. (iii) The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) Number 2022-05, with effective date March 07, 2022. (iv) The associated NAICS code 334516 and the small business size standard 1,000. This requirement is not a small business set aside but, but rather is a sole source acquisition to BlueCatBio MA, Inc. Description (v) The National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS) is a part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), which mission it is to catalyze the generation of innovative methods and technologies that will enhance the development, testing and implementation of diagnostics and therapeutics across a wide range of human diseases and conditions. APP requires an automated, centrifugation-based plate washer with dispenser system from BlueCatBio. This instrument will enable NCATS researchers to gently wash microplates using centrifugation, which will greatly increase the throughput of ELISA based assays, and other assays that require multiple wash steps. Centrifugation allows for a contact-free and complete removal of liquid from the well without disrupting adherent cells. High-throughput screening projects require the washing of 384- and 1536-well microplates. One of NCATS’ goals is to develop methods that advance the science of High throughput screening and informatics by addressing the high incidence of false-positives in target discovery. To this end, it is imperative we reduce errors to minimal. The BlueWasher will reduce noise in many phenotypic screens we are running as part of our research screenings. Overall, this project will support ongoing work for small molecule and combination screening, in silico virtual screening, nanobody/antibody design and optimization that are part of NCATS’s ongoing work to support the pandemic response. This requirement is for the following items: - Qty (2) BlueWasher - Qty (2) Control Laptop Win10 - Qty (2) Dispenser system for up to 7 shared liquid inputs with magnetic quick swap attachment for interchangeable dispenser heads - Qty (2) Dispenser, slanted -Qty (2) Dispenser Package 1536 - Qty (12) Additional liquid input channel - Qty (2) Dedicated dispenser, 1st - Qty (2) Dedicated dispenser, 2nd or 3rd - Qty (6) Spare Dispenser Comb, 16 pin with magnetic quick swap - Qty (6) Spare Dispenser Comb, 32 pin with magnetic quick swap - Qty (2) Carrier, h10.4, 52mm cut-out - Qty (2) Carrier, h8, 52mm cut-out -Qty (2) 12 Month Limited Warranty - Qty (2) Half year cleaning & maintenance pack (passive drain) - Qty (2) Shipping and Handling BlueWasher or BlueBench - Qty (2) Shipping surcharge - Qty (2) Shipping and Handling Half Year Maintenance Pack (vi) Centrifugal plate washer with the following characteristics: • uses centrifugation instead of aspiration for non-contact and contamination-free removal of liquids from all plate formats, including 1536 well. • achieves near zero residual volume and eliminates problems associated with conventional, aspiration-based washers. • reduces assay background and variability, eliminates wash steps and needle clogging, while increasing throughput, reliability and saving consumable cost with tipless media-changes in cell-based screening and magnetic bead wash applications. • Automated, centrifugation-based plate dryer and media changer. • Software licenses for graphical user interface (GUI) and firmware (FW) with updates for 12 months. • Gravity based liquid waste handling. • Dispenser option for 96, 384, and 1536 well plates from up to 7 liquid input channels. Contract Type and Anticipated Delivery Date/Location (vii) The Government anticipates award of a firm fixed-price purchase order for this acquisition, and the anticipated delivery date is within thirty (30) days after receipt of order (ARO). Delivery will be F.O.B. destination. The place of delivery and acceptance will be: NIH/NCATS 9800 Medical Center Drive Bldg. C, 1st floor, Room C118W Rockville, MD 20850 Terms and Conditions, Provisions, and Representations (viii) The provision at FAR 52.252-1, Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference (Feb 1998), applies to this acquisition. This solicitation incorporates one or more solicitation provisions by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. The offeror is cautioned that the listed provisions may include blocks that must be completed by the offeror and submitted with its quotation or offer. In lieu of submitting the full text of those provisions, the offeror may identify the provision by paragraph identifier and provide the appropriate information with its quotation or offer. Also, the full text of a solicitation provision may be accessed electronically at these addresses: https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far https://www.hhs.gov/grants/contracts/contract-policies-regulations/hhsar/index.html (End of provision) The following provisions apply to this acquisition and are incorporated by reference: FAR 52.204-7, System for Award Management (Oct 2018) FAR 52.204-16, Commercial and Government Entity Code Reporting (Aug 2020) FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items (Nov 2021) FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items (Nov 2021) FAR 52.225-2, Buy American Certificate (Feb 2021) HHSAR 352.239-73, Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Notice (December 18, 2015) The clause at FAR 52.252-2, Clauses Incorporated by Reference (Feb 1998), applies to this acquisition. This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at these addresses: https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far https://www.hhs.gov/grants/contracts/contract-policies-regulations/hhsar/index.html (End of clause) The following clauses apply to this acquisition and are incorporated by reference: FAR 52.204-13, System for Award Management Maintenance (Oct 2018) FAR 52.204-18, Commercial and Government Entity Code Maintenance (Aug 2020) FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items (Nov 2021). Addendum to this FAR clause applies to this acquisition and is attached. HHSAR 352.222-70, Contractor Cooperation in Equal Employment Opportunity Investigations (December 18, 2015)> HHSAR 352.239-74, Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility (December 18, 2015) The following provisions and clauses apply to this acquisition and are attached in full text. Offerors MUST complete the provisions at 52.204-24 and 52.204-26 and submit completed copies as separate documents with their proposal. FAR 52.204-24 Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment (Nov 2021) FAR 52.204-26 Covered Telecommunications Equipment or Services-Representation (Oct 2020) FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items (Jan 2022) NIH Invoice and Payment Provisions (Feb 2021) Evaluation Criteria (ix) The Government will evaluate quotations or offers in accordance with FAR 13.106-2 and award a purchase order from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose quote conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate quotes: a. Technical capability of the item offered to meet the Government requirement; b. Price If domestic sources are available and capable of fulfilling the Government’s need, the Government will use evaluation preferences in accordance with FAR 25. A written notice of award or acceptance of an offer, mailed or otherwise furnished to the successful offeror within the time for acceptance specified in the offer, shall result in a binding contract without further action by either party. Before the offer’s specified expiration time, the Government may accept an offer (or part of an offer), whether or not there are negotiations after its receipt, unless a written notice of withdrawal is received before award. (x) The Offerors to include a completed copy of the provision at FAR clause 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items (Nov 2021), with its offer. If the offeror has completed FAR clause 52.212-3 at www.sam.gov, then the offeror does not need to provide a completed copy with its offer. (xii) The following additional contract requirement(s) or terms and conditions as determined by the contracting officer are necessary for this acquisition and consistent with customary commercial practices: Warranty requirement of twelve (12) months from invoice date. (xiii) The Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) are not applicable to this requirement. HHS reserves the right to exercise priorities and allocations authority with respect to this contract, to include rating this order in accordance with 45 CFR Part 101, Subpart A: Health Resources Priorities and Allocations System. Responses (xiv) Responses to this solicitation must include sufficient information to establish the interested parties’ bona-fide capabilities of providing the product or service. The price quote shall include: unit price, list price, shipping and handling costs, delivery days after contract award, delivery terms, prompt payment discount terms, F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), product or catalog number(s), product description, country of manufacturer, and any other information or factors that may be considered in the award decision. Such factors may include: past performance, special features required for effective program performance, trade-in considerations, probable life of the item selected as compared with that of a comparable item, warranty considerations, maintenance availability, and environmental and energy efficiency considerations. Respondents that believe that they are manufacturers or authorized resellers of the brand-name product specified in this announcement must provide, as part of their response: (a) product, catalog, model, and/or part number(s); (b) product description; (c) all relevant information and documentation that the item(s) offered meets the salient physical, functional, or performance characteristics as specified in the purchase description; quantity; estimated price or cost; shipping, handling, and/or installation charges; and delivery date after receipt of order. The Dun & Bradstreet Number (DUNS), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size must be included in the response. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov. All quotations must be received by 11 a.m., Eastern Standard Time, on MARCH 30, 2022, and reference Solicitation Number 75N95022Q00147. Responses must be submitted electronically to Samson Shifaraw, Contract Specialist, at samson.shifaraw@nih.gov. Fax responses will not be accepted. Attachments (xv) Attachments: FAR 52.204-24, Representation Regarding Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment (Nov 2021) FAR 52.204-26, Covered Telecommunications Equipment or Services-Representation (Oct 2020) Addendum to FAR 52.212-4 Terms and Conditions – Commercial Items FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions—Commercial Products and Commercial Services (Jan 2022) NIH Invoice and Payment Provisions (Rev. February 10, 2021)