Inactive

Introduction This is a Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availabilit... Introduction This is a Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of all qualified sources to perform a potential requirement. Project Summary The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), Vaccine Research Center (VRC), is seeking to acquire a Mid-Throughput Next Generation Sequencing Instrument. The VRC is designing, producing, and testing candidate immunogens aimed at eliciting neutralizing antibodies against a number of human pathogens including HIV, Influenza, RSV and SARS-CoV-2. At the core of this effort lies the requirement to elicit antibodies that use particular IgH and IgL chain gene pairs. For evaluation of vaccine candidates, the evolution of such antibodies, and thus the effectiveness of the vaccine, needs to be monitored using a variety of molecular techniques that culminate in single-cell NGS of pathogen-specific B cell IgG genes. In addition, passive antibody applications necessarily depend on the identification and sequencing of neutralizing pathogen-specific antibodies in infected and/or convalescent people. Similarly, vaccines being developed by the VRC that aim to elicit T cell immunity, such as those against TB, malaria, and cancer, require analysis at the level of TCR sequences. To complement these studies of immune adaptive receptor use, the VRC also investigates host genomic associations with vaccine responses and disease progression, the microbiome, pathogen sequence diversity within and among infected people, and host cellular reservoirs of pathogens. To achieve these goals the VRC has developed a broad portfolio of next-generation sequencing methodologies. These include bulk and single cell TCR, Ig and whole transcriptome sequencing, targeted genomic sequencing of specific loci, whole genome sequencing, shotgun microbiome metagenomics, and long-read/consensus pathogen sequencing. These assays are performed on samples from multiple species including humans, NHP and various rodents. The Mid-Throughput Next Generation Sequencing Instrument is needed to help the VRC sequencing core support the mission-critical research described above. The sequencing system must use the same reagents, variables, sequencing techniques, and equipment to ensure the integrity of on-going study results are not compromised. Specifically, NIAID, VRC is seeking one sequencing instrument capable of the following: The Mid-Throughput Next Generation Sequencing (NGS) instrument enables a broad range of applications and study sizes through sequencing by synthesis and sample multiplexing. The system must use onboard algorithms for primary and secondary analysis of the sequencing data. The minimal specifications for the system are as follows: The Mid-Throughput NGS instrument must have eleven flowcell options ranging from 100M reads to 1.2B reads on a single flowcell and have a 600-cycle kit option available today. The instrument must incorporate a dry design to avoid sample cross-contamination within the fluidics. The instrument must be compatible with existing LIMS/IT infrastructure. The instrument must incorporate an onboard bioinformatics server with BCL to FASTQ conversion, lossless data compression, and secondary analysis pipelines for RNA-Seq, differential expression, enrichment, scRNA-Seq, and targeted amplicons. The instrument must not be larger than 23.6” x 23.6” x 25.6” (HxWxD) and weigh no more than 145kg. Anticipated Period of Performance It is anticipated that an award will be made on or about September 30, 2023. Estimated lead time for delivery of Equipment is 60-90 days upon Vendor’s receipt of the purchase order. Capability Statement/Information Sought If your organization has the potential capacity to meet the minimum requirements and performance capabilities listed above, please provide the following information: Organization name, address, point of contact, email address, website address, telephone number, UEI number. Company location(s) and number of years company has been in business. Type of business (e.g., 8(a), HUBZone, Other than Small, etc.) pursuant to the applicable NAICS code. Type of ownership for the organization. Identification of any Best-In-Class contract vehicles including Government Wide Acquisition Contracts (GWAC) (e.g., GSA schedule) they may possess or are aware of that would support this possible requirement. If your organization does not provide the products/services under a GWAC, please identify availability as OPEN MARKET ONLY. Tailored capability statement addressing the capability of the sequencing instrument to meet NIAID’s minimum requirements. Capability document shall be no more than six pages. Place of manufacture for Mid-Throughput NGS instrument. Evidence that the organization is an authorized reseller or manufacturer of the instrument. Only Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) products are acceptable. Submission Instructions Interested businesses who consider themselves qualified to provide the above specification for the Mid-Throughput NGS instrument, are invited to submit a response to this Sources Sought Notice by September 12, 2023, at 3:00 PM EST. All responses under this Sources Sought Notice shall be emailed to Daveta H. Brown at daveta.brown@nih.gov. 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 pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. 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).