Inactive Total Small Business Set-Aside (FAR 19.5)

Solicitation No. 75N95023Q00627 Title: PCR Workstation (No Thermocycler) (Automated Liquid Handler/pipetting robot) i. This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accorda... Solicitation No. 75N95023Q00627 Title: PCR Workstation (No Thermocycler) (Automated Liquid Handler/pipetting robot) 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 separate written solicitation will not be issued. ii. 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. A fixed-price type of purchase order is contemplated for this requirement. The solicitation number is 75N95023Q00627 and the solicitation is issued as a request for quotation (RFQ) as a total small business set-aside. (iii) The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular 2023-05 / 09-07-2023. (iv) The associated NAICS code 334516 – Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing and the small business size standard 1,000 Employees. This requirement is a total small business set-aside. (v) The purpose of this acquisition is to purchase an PCR Workstation (No Thermocycler) with a 4-in1 Tube Rack Set, 200ul Filter Tips Racks (9600 tips), 20ul Filter Tips Racks (9600 Tips), and Single-Channel Electronic Pipette p300 (GEN20) which are referred as the automated liquid handler/pipetting robot for the National Institute on Aging (NIA), Laboratory of Clinical Investigation (LCI). The NIA/LCI requires an automated liquid handler/pipetting robot for reliable liquid handling to prepare 384 and 96 well plates for RT-PCR to accelerate high through put assays and provide assay to assay reproducibility. The system will be operated by open-source programs and programmable using Python software. (vi) Purchase Description: PCR Workstation (No Thermocycler) (Automated Liquid Handler/Pipetting Robot), one (1) each; 4-in-1 Tube Rack Set, two (2) each; 200ul Filter Tips Racks (9600 tips), one (1) each; 20ul Filter Tips Racks (9600 Tips), one (1) each; Single-Channel Electronic Pipette p300 (GEN20), one (1) each; and one (1) additional 12-Month Warranty (excluding pipettors, Repairs and replacement requests caused by accidents, misuse, abuse or neglect, Integrated devices or Protocols and Software), is available to begin at the end of the standard 12-month manufacturer’s warranty. Salient characteristics At least 11 deck slots Pipette volume range of at least 1 µL to a maximum of 1,000 µL. Capable of completing a Fast-fill a 96-well plate in at least 22 seconds. Pipetting accuracy of at least 15% accuracy at 1 ?L and 5% precision at 1 ?L. Pipette configuration of 2× 8-Channel, 2× Single-Channel, or one of each. Any automation-compatible, ANSI/SLAS standard footprint well plates, plus a wide range of snap-cap and screw-cap tubes up to a 50 mL conical with 4-in-1 Tube Rack and compatible with Agilent®, Axygen®, Bio-Rad®, Corning®, Eppendorf®, Falcon®, GEB®, NEST®, Opentrons®, USA Scientific® labware. Footprint no larger than 63 cm × 57 cm × 66 cm (W, D, H) USB and Wi-Fi connectivity. Open-source capabilities. Programmable using the Python programming language. Twelve-Month Manufacturer’s Warranty (vii) Delivery shall be made Thirty (30) days after receipt of the order. Delivery shall be made to the National Institute on Aging (NIA), Laboratory of Clinical Investigation (LCI). (viii) The provision at FAR Clause 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors—Commercial Items (September 2023), is applicable to this solicitation. (ix) The provision at FAR Clause 52.212-2, Evaluation-Commercial Items (November 2021), applies to this acquisition. Although technical factors are of paramount consideration in the award of the contract, price and past performance are also important to the overall contract award decision. All evaluation factors other than price, when combined, are significantly more important than price. The Government intends to make an award to that offeror whose proposal provides the best overall value to the Government. The evaluation will be based on the demonstrated capabilities of the prospective Contractors in relation to the needs of the project as set forth in herein. The merits of each proposal will be evaluated carefully. Each proposal must document the feasibility of successful implementation of the requirement as set forth herein. Offerors must submit information sufficient to evaluate their proposals based on the detailed factors set forth above. (a) The Government will award a contract resulting from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose offer conforming to the solicitation will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following factors shall be used to evaluate offers: (1) minimum specifications of the technical, performance, and functional characteristics of the proposed product; (2) technical support, customer support and delivery, installation, and set-up plan; (3) warranty and preventative maintenance agreement plan; (4) Past Performance; and (5) Price. Although technical factors are of paramount consideration in the award of the contract, price and past performance are also important to the overall contract award decision. All evaluation factors other than price, when combined, are significantly more important than price. The Government intends to make an award to that offeror whose proposal provides the best overall value to the Government. The evaluation will be based on the demonstrated capabilities of the prospective Contractors in relation to the needs of the project as set forth in herein. The merits of each proposal will be evaluated carefully. Each proposal must document the feasibility of successful implementation of the requirement as set forth herein. Offerors must submit information sufficient to evaluate their proposals based on the detailed factors set forth above. The evaluation factors are used when reviewing the proposals: (1) Technical Capability and Functionality—NIDA shall evaluate the offeror’s technical approach for overall capability and functionality in relation to the General Requirement, Salient Characteristics, Quantity and Deliverables as described in the Purchase Description; (2) Contract Management and Customer Support—NIDA shall evaluate the offeror’s ability to provide a high level of customer service, particularly in the area of initial responsiveness and resolution of device and service problems; (3) Speed of Delivery, Installation and Set-up—NIDA shall evaluate the offeror’s technical approach for completeness, feasibility, soundness and practicality of the proposed approach and work plan for accomplishing the requirements of the statement of work; (4) Past Performance—Offerors will be evaluated based on information obtained from references provided by the offeror, other relevant past performance information obtained from other sources known to the Government, and any information supplied by the offeror concerning problems encountered on the identified contracts and corrective action taken. Furthermore, the Government will assess the relative risks associated with each offeror. Performance risks are those associated with an offeror's likelihood of success in performing the acquisition requirements as indicated by that offeror's record of past performance. The assessment of performance risk is not intended to be the product of a mechanical or mathematical analysis of an offeror's performance on a list of contracts but rather the product of subjective judgment by the Government after it considers all available and relevant information; and (5) Price— Offerors price quote will be evaluated for reasonableness. For a price to be reasonable, it must represent a price to the government that a prudent person would pay when consideration is given to prices in the market. Normally, price reasonableness is established through adequate price competition, but may also be determined through cost and price analysis techniques. Price evaluation will not be conducted on any Offeror determined to be technically unacceptable. Offerors may respond with a proposal indicating their ability to provide the technical specifications stated in this solicitation. Responses will be evaluated based on the contractor’s ability to meet the Government’s requirements. (b) Options. The Government will evaluate offers for award purposes by adding the total price for all options to the total price for the basic requirement. The Government may determine that an offer is unacceptable if the option prices are significantly unbalanced. Evaluation of options shall not obligate the Government to exercise the option(s). (c) 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. (End of provision) x. The provision at FAR Clause 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications Commercial Items (September 2023), applies to this acquisition. xi. The provision at FAR Clause 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions—Commercial Items (December 2022), applies to this acquisition. xii. The provision of FAR Clause 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders Commercial Items (September 2023), applies to this acquisition. xiii. There are no additional contract requirement(s) or terms and conditions applicable to this acquisition. xiv. The Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) are not applicable to this requirement. xv. Responses to this solicitation must include sufficient information to establish the interested parties’ bona-fide capabilities of providing the product or service. Responses to this solicitation must include clear and convincing evidence of the Offeror’s capability of fulfilling the requirement as it relates to the government requirements stated in this solicitation. Basic cost and price information in the Offeror’s proposal must contain sufficient information to allow the Government to perform a basic analysis of the reasonableness of the Offeror to supply the required goods/services. Any other information or factors that may be considered in the award decision may include such factors as: past performance; special features required for effective service coverage; trade-in considerations; warranty considerations; maintenance and service coverage availability; serial, product or catalog number(s); product description; delivery terms; and prompt payment discount terms. Offerors must submit its quote electronically. Offerors MUST include a completed copy of the provision at 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications Commercial Items, with their offer, OR provide a copy of the valid certifications registrations and Representation and Certifications from the System of Award Management (SAM) applications at www.SAM.gov, which may be indicated on the Offeror’s cover sheet. In addition, the offeror’s Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) 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 responses must be received no later than September 20, 2023, 12:00 Noon, Eastern Standard Time. Late responses will not be accepted. All responses must reference solicitation number 75N95023Q00627. Responses must be submitted electronically to debra.hawkins@nih.gov. For information regarding this solicitation, please contact Debra C. Hawkins by email at debra.hawkins@nih.gov or by phone at 301-827-7751. xvi. DATE QUESTIONS DUE: Questions and requests for clarification must be submitted electronically to Debra C. Hawkins, at debra.hawkins@nih.gov on or before September 18, 2023. 12:00 Noon, Eastern Standard Time, Fax responses will NOT be accepted.

Inactive

This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the avai... This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition; and (4) availability of domestic sources manufactured in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities and of a satisfactory quality. For equipment/supply requirements, responses must include the place of manufacturing (i.e. address if supply/equipment is a domestic end product and include country of manufacture). For equipment/supply requirements, small businesses must also address the size status of the manufacturer under the applicable NAICS code (i.e. address Non-Manufacturer Rule). Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice. This notice is issued to help determine the availability of qualified companies technically capable of meeting the Government requirement and to determine the method of acquisition. It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotes. No award will be made as a result of this notice. The Government will NOT be responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice. This notice is strictly for research and information purposes only. Background: The National Institute on Aging (NIA) Laboratory of Clinical Investigation (LCI) requires an automated liquid handler/pipetting robot for reliable liquid handling to prepare 384 and 96 well plates for RT-PCR to accelerate highthrough put assays and provide assay to assay reproducibility. The system must be operated by open source programs and programmable using Python software. Project requirements: Currently LCI characterize human taste organoids from multiple participants of varying age to determine stem cell function with age. This requires measuring gene expression by RT-PCR of twelve (12) markers of stem cells and the mature taste receptor cells into which they differentiate, in triplicate. This must be repeated on each participant’s organoids at predetermined timepoints during the conversion from stem cells to mature cells to quantify the ability of the stem cells to produce mature taste cells. This also must be repeated at various passage levels to measure stem cell capacity with age. A major requirement for the success of this project is to be certain of reproducibility and pipetting errors inherent to having different operators performing the assay. Cross-contamination is also a common problem with the RT-PCR procedure and the HEPA filtered environment of the requested robot’s chamber has been shown to limit cross-contamination issues. Another advantage of the requested robot is the increased turnaround time will allow the researchers more time to forcus on analysis of the data generated from RT-PCR. NIA requires an item that meets the following salient characteristics: At least 11 deck slots Pipette volume range of at least 1 µL to a maximum of 1,000 µL. Capable of completing a Fast-fill a 96-well plate in at least 22 seconds. Pipetting accuracy of at least 15% accuracy at 1 ?L and 5% precision at 1 ?L. Pipette configuration of 2× 8-Channel, 2× Single-Channel, or one of each. Any automation-compatible, ANSI/SLAS standard footprint well plates, plus a wide range of snap-cap and screw-cap tubes up to a 50 mL conical with 4-in-1 Tube Rack and compatible with Agilent®, Axygen®, Bio-Rad®, Corning® , Eppendorf® , Falcon® , GEB® , NEST®, Opentrons®, USA Scientific® labware. Footprint no larger than 63 cm × 57 cm × 66 cm (W, D, H) USB and WiFi connectivity. Open source capabilities. Programmable using the Python programming language. Twelve-Month Manufacturer’s Warranty Anticipated delivery: 30 days ARO Other important considerations: In case domestic sources are available and capable of fulfilling the Government’s need, and a future solicitation is published, the Government will use evaluation preferences in accordance with FAR 25. Capability statement /information sought. Companies that believe they possess the capabilities to provide the required products should submit documentation of their ability to meet each of the project requirements to the Contracting Officer. The capability statement must specifically address each of the project requirements separately. Additionally, the capability statement should include 1) the total number of employees, 2) the professional qualifications of personnel as it relates to the requirements outlined, 3) any contractor GSA Schedule contracts and/or other government-wide acquisition contracts (GWACs) by which all of the requirements may be met, if applicable, and 4) any other information considered relevant to this program. Capability statements must also include the Company Name, Unique Entity ID from SAM.gov, Physical Address, and Point of Contact Information. The response must include the respondents’ technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses. Interested companies are required to identify their type of business, applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code, and size standards in accordance with the Small Business Administration. The government requests that no proprietary or confidential business data be submitted in a response to this notice. However, responses that indicate the information therein is proprietary will be properly safeguarded for Government use only. Capability statements must include the name and telephone number of a point of contact having authority and knowledge to discuss responses with Government representatives. Capability statements in response to this market survey that do not provide sufficient information for evaluation will be considered non-responsive. When submitting this information, please reference the solicitation notice number. One (1) copy of the response is required and must be in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format using 11-point or 12-point font, 8-1/2” x 11” paper size, with 1” top, bottom, left and right margins, and with single or double spacing. The information submitted must be in and outline format that addresses each of the elements of the project requirement and in the capability statement /information sought paragraphs stated herein. A cover page and an executive summary may be included but is not required. The response is limited to ten (10) page limit. The 10-page limit does not include the cover page, executive summary, or references, if requested. All responses to this notice must be submitted electronically to the Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer. Facsimile responses are NOT accepted. The response must be submitted to Karen Mahon, Contracting Officer (Karen.Mahon@nih.gov) and Debra Hawkins (debra.hawkins@nih.gov). The response must be received on or before August 25, 2023 at 9:00 am, Eastern Time. “Disclaimer and Important Notes: This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization’s qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. After a review of the responses received, a presolicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in www.sam.gov. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. Confidentiality: No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s).”