Inactive

Amendment-01 - See Attachments INTRODUCTION THIS IS A PRE-SOLICITATION NON-COMPETITIVE (NOTICE OF INTENT) SYNOPSIS TO AWARD A CONTRACT WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-N... Amendment-01 - See Attachments INTRODUCTION THIS IS A PRE-SOLICITATION NON-COMPETITIVE (NOTICE OF INTENT) SYNOPSIS TO AWARD A CONTRACT WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME). The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) intends to negotiate on a sole source basis with LAB PRODUCTS INC., 742 Sussex Avenue, Seaford, Delaware, 19973 REGULATORY AUTHORITY This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13—Simplified Acquisition Procedures. Contracts awarded using FAR Part 13—Simplified Acquisition Procedures are exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6—Competition Requirements. FAR Subpart 13.106-1 (b) Soliciting from a single source provides that: For purchases NOT exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold, Contracting officers may solicit from one source IF the contracting officer determines that the circumstances of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available (e.g., urgency, exclusive licensing agreements, brand-name OR industrial mobilization). The resultant contract will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2021-06 dated June 10, 2021. CONTRACTING WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION DETERMINATION The determination is based off the following criteria: The systematic replacement of racks and standardization of the caging throughout the National Institute of Mental Health Intramural Research Program using the same racking systems. This standardization ensures consistent, comparable, and repeatable research results. In addition, to increased facility efficiency and lower facility operating costs, the standardization assures that each breeding unit consisting of parents and offspring are housed in identical cages throughout their use on study. Our investigators are studying breeding and rearing behaviors, vocalizations, performance of behavioral tests, brain anatomy as measured by MRI and circadian rhythm in the developing offspring and their parents. All of the control data for this study was generated in breeding units housed and trained in the Lab Products’ new world nonhuman primate racking system. These animals do not generalize well and are neophobic (afraid of new/unfamiliar things) thus any change in the housing environment or handling methods can alter the animals’ behavior and performance on research tasks. The end result would be a loss in study consistency, comparability, and repeatability. For example, receipt of cages that are not an exact match to current caging would result in the loss of existing research data that was collected on the first litter for each breeding unit (6 months to one year’s worth of data for all current breeding units). In addition, most breeding units have already had a second litter in which an experimental manipulation was performed and this data as well as the valuable animals themselves could be lost as the social and developmental context for the experimentally manipulated animals would be altered in the middle of the study and these developmental milestones only occur within a narrow window of time, as such the data would be lost and the study would have to be repeated using new animals in the new cages. Consistency in New World NHP rack systems within both National Institute of Mental Health Institute and the Building 49 Central Animal facility is critically important to maintain efficient workflow. Receipt of cages which are not an exact match to the current Lab Products racking system would necessitate that the central animal facility staff keep track of which cages are in use in each animal housing room and maintain enough of those particular cages to allow for the cages in each room to be replaced every two weeks with identical caging so that the used cages may be removed and cleaned. If all cages are consistent, then the facility only needs to maintain one room’s worth of caging to serve as clean exchange cages since the next batch of clean cages comes from the previous room’s cages which are removed, cleaned, and then used as replacement cages for the next room. Having to track, store, maintain and purchase additional caging for each unique or incompatible set of caging increases the cost to the government to manage, run and house animals in Building 49. This also results in the opportunity cost of having to dedicate rooms in the animal facility to nothing more than storing adequate cages for clean cage change-out. That space would otherwise be used to house animals and support on-going research efforts, this drastically increases operational costs while adversely impacting research by limiting how many animals can be held and is entirely avoidable if all cages are an exact match and compatible with any other cage in the facility. The net effect on the facility is decreased facility efficiency and lower facility operating costs. Compatibility with the Lab Products New World NHP racking systems is paramount for ongoing research products. Researchers have modified the caging to house nesting boxes and jump boxes that is essential to their ongoing research. In addition, the researchers and their labs fabricated testing equipment that seamlessly interfaces with the Lab Product racks. Specifically, the size and location of all door openings, position and composition of all shelves inside the cage, the internal dimensions of the cage, the amount of light that enters the cage, the reflections created by parts of the cage, the animals’ ability to see other animals in the room, and the type, style and shape of the supporting rods that make up the four corners of the cage must match our current Lab Products cages exactly. If these conditions are not an exact match there are several adverse consequences for research. If the lighting and reflections are altered, then the behavioral data generated using automated software which was designed and customized to follow animal movements in the caging and filter out extraneous signals would no longer function, and this software would have to be re-worked to accommodate the new caging which would significantly delay ongoing studies and could result in a loss of data generated using the old version of the software. Another consequence of the new caging not being an exact match for the door openings and locations/mechanism of opening is that the transport boxes and other research equipment designed to seamlessly fit onto the existing cage may no longer be compatible. This could result in gaps being formed between the equipment and the caging. A gap as small as ¼ inch is enough to allow a juvenile animal to become entrapped and injured or to allow an animal to reach out and bite or scratch personnel resulting in injury. Gaps larger than ¼ inch or any instability in the test equipment-cage interface could result in animal escape which could lead to animal injury, personnel injury, or both. In the case of infant animals, gaps that the infant can fall through could result in serious injury or the death of the animal. Room in a Room Day-Light Simulator The simulator was designed around the Lab Products New World Primate Racks and the modifications made by the NIMH investigator staff to house new world primates within the Lab product racking system within the room in a room day-light simulator. This simulator is designed to exactly fit the Lab Products racking system in order to deliver a controlled exposure to specific wavelengths and intensities of light over a photoperiod defined by the investigator. In order to meet federal regulations for the housing of primates this enclosure must meet the ventilation, humidity, and temperature requirements for new world species, but in order to meet research needs the unit must be light-tight when closed. This was a challenge to design and receipt of caging which is not an exact match to the Lab Products racking system in terms of the 3-D internal cage environment and all openings along the front, back, and sides as well as the position of animal access ports, location of water bottles and size of the castor wheels would result in an inability to make use of this simulator. DESCRIPTION OF REQUIREMENT See Attachment 1 – Purchase Description CLOSING STATEMENT This synopsis is not a request for competitive proposals. However, all responsible sources may submit a capability statement, proposal, or quotation, which shall be considered by the agency. Responses to this notice shall contain sufficient information to establish the interested parties' bona-fide capabilities for fulfilling the requirement and include: unit price, list price, shipping and handling costs, the delivery period after contract award, the prompt payment discount terms, the F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), product description; equipment specifications, and any other information or factors that may be considered in the award decision. the Dun & Bradstreet Number (DUNS), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. All responsible sources may submit a capability statement, proposal, or quotation which shall be considered by the agency. The information received will normally be considered solely for the purposes of determining whether to proceed on a non-competitive basis or to conduct a competitive procurement. All responses must be received by the closing date and time of this announcement and must reference the solicitation number in this notice. Responses must be submitted electronically to Kristina Jenkins, Contracting Officer, at kristina.jenkins@nih.gov. U.S. Mail and fax responses will not be accepted.

Inactive

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 capabil... 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 qualified businesses to perform a potential requirement. This notice is issued to help determine the availability of qualified businesses 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. Statement of Need and Purpose: The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) has been given the unique opportunity to acquire two (2) additional New World Non-Huma Primate breeding colonies. The purpose of this acquisition is for VMRB to purchase thirty (30) new world primate units to house new world-human primates. These racks will be integrated into the NIMH existing rack system and allow the Lab to continue housing non-human primates safely in the animal facility. Background & Purchase Description: See the following attachments. Attachment 1 – Draft Purchase Description Attachment 2 – Specifications Capability Statement /Information Sought Contractors that believe that they possess the ability to provide the required equipment, should submit documentation on their ability to meet each of the project requirements in the response. There is no page limit for the response. The response must include the respondents' technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses. The Contractor should directly and specifically state in the, capabilities statement, which project requirements can be meet and/or supplied. The Contractor must also provide the following; DUNS number, organization name, address, point of contact, and size and type of business (e.g., 8(a), HubZone, etc., pursuant to the applicable NAICS code); Identify where equipment and parts are manufactured; identify if the proposed equipment is available on GSA; and Provide any other information that may be helpful in developing or finalizing the acquisition requirements. 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 must include the respondents' technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses. All responses to this notice must be submitted by the closing date and time of this announcement and must reference the Notice ID. Facsimile responses are NOT accepted. Responses must be submitted electronically to Kristina Jenkins, Contracting Officer, at kristina.jenkins@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.