National Institutes Of Health Tender

Pre-solicitation Notice **notice Of Intent To Sole Source noi-niaid-25-2257060 naics – 811210 this Is A Notice Of Intent, Not A Request For Proposal. The National Institute Of Allergy And Infectious Diseases (niaid) Of The National Institutes Of Health (nih) Intends To Negotiate On An Other Than Full And Open Competition Basis With Bio-active Co Ltd To Procure Preventative Maintenance Services For The Niaid-owned Illumina Nextseq 2000 Sequencer Located At The Niaid-icer Cambodia. the National Institute Of Allergy And Infectious Diseases (niaid) Laboratory Of Malaria And Vector Research (lmvr), Requires The Procurement Of Preventative Maintenance Services For The Illumina Nextseq 2000 Sequencer Located That The Niaid-international Center Of Excellence In Research (icer) Cambodia Location. This Instrument Is Used In The Ongoing Idseq Study (febrile Disease Landscape In Cambodia Via Metagenomic Pathogen Sequencing; Nct04034264, Start Date 2019-07-23) To Detect And Characterize Pathogens Causing Acute Febrile Illness, Including Those Associated With Disease Outbreaks. The Preventative Maintenance Services Provide Regular Security And Software Updates To The Sequencer To Enable Secure Transfer Of Data From The Instrument To The Cloud For Analysis. Lmvr Has Had An On-going Collaboration With National Centre For Parasitology, Entomology And Malaria Control, Phnom Penh, Cambodia Since 2005 That Was Formalized Into The International Center Of Excellence (icer) Cambodia In 2019. Despite Limited Sequencing Capacity In-country, Icer Cambodia Acquired A Nextseq 2000 Through Niaid To Support The Innovative Sequencing System. Since This Machine Requires Maintenance And Repairs, Continuing A Service Agreement Is A Necessity. In Cambodia, There Is Limited Ability To Have Specialized Equipment Serviced And Maintained. To Ensure The Well-functioning Of The Nextseq2000, Annual Preventive Maintenance And Repairs Throughout The Course Of A Year Are Required. Bio-active In Thailand, Who Is The Exclusive Distributor From Illumina, Provides Continued Warranty Service Agreement Inclusive Of All Services To The Cambodia Lab. These Are Necessary Services That Support Ongoing Research Experiments And Are Directly Related To Human Health And Biosecurity. The Services Also Include Real-time Support For Instrument Malfunction, Which Allows Availability Of The Sequencer At All Times For Continual Study Use. Unlike U.s. Locations, It Is Not Possible To Call In For Emergency Repairs At The Time Of Issue. Studies Would Cease While The Instrument Was Inoperable, And The Entire Study Would Be Compromised, Thus Creating A Loss Of Investment On The Research To Date. Any Breakdowns Of The Instrument Would Require A Team Of Engineers To Travel To Cambodia To Troubleshoot The Problem, As There Are No Trained Engineers For This Manufacturer (illumina) In Cambodia That Can Provide This Service. This Visiting Team Would Be Able To Perform Small Repairs With An Estimated Turnaround Time Of Approximately 4-6 Weeks, Depending On Team Availability. Larger Repairs, Including Replacement Of Delicate Parts, Would Require The Instrument To Be Shipped Out Of The Country To An Illumina Repair Center As There Are No Repair Centers In Cambodia. Shipping Costs And Logistics Including Obtaining Customs Clearance And Specialized Transport And Installation Of This Large And Fragile Instrument Would Have To Be Performed/ Covered By Niaid. The Turnaround Time Would Depend On The Nature Of The Fix, But Coordination And Shipping Alone Would Require An Estimated 4-6 Months. These Significant Time Delays Would Lead To Major Disruption Of Existing Clinical Studies In Cambodia That Rely On Sequencing-based Detection Of Viruses, Bacteria, And Other Pathogens Causing Illness In Study Participants (nct04034264, Start Date 2019-07-23). Study Enrollment Would Have To Stop And There Would Be Protocol Deviations For Active Enrolled Participants. Final Repair Costs Would Depend On The Nature Of The Fix But Would Likely Exceed The Cost Of The Annual Service Contract. The Present Maintenance Period Lapses March 6, 2025, And To Avoid Having The Warranty On The Instrument Invalidated, A New Fy25 Agreement Should Be Procured. the Statutory Authority For This Sole Source Requirement Is 41 U.s.c. 1901 (a) (1) As Implemented By Far 13.106-1 Only One Responsible Source And No Other Supply Of Service Will Satisfy Agency Requirements. This Is Not A Request For Proposal. All Responsible Sources That Could Provide Comparable Services May Submit A Capability Statement. All Required Documents Must Be Submitted Via The Niaid Electronic Simplified Acquisition Submission System (esass) Website At Https://esass.nih.gov By February 28, 2025 At 5:00 Pm Et. All Vendors Must Register In The Esass System To Submit Their Documentation. Instructions On How To Register /submit Documents Are Included On The Website. All Responses Received By The Closing Date Of This Synopsis Will Be Considered By The Government. A Determination Not To Compete This Requirement, Based Upon Responses To This Notice, Is Solely Within The Discretion Of The Government.