Short-term bridge/9 month maintenance agreement with system upgrades for a Cytek Aurora CS5-Laser (B/R/V/YG/UV)

PRE-SOLICITATION NOTICE **NOTICE OF INTENT

NOI-NIAID-24-2220346

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 CYTEK BIOSCIENCES INC to procure a short-term bridge/9 month maintenance agreement with system upgrades for a Cytek Aurora CS5-Laser (B/R/V/YG/UV), product # N9-90071, S/N S0105.

POP: 07/27/2024 – 04/27/2025

The Cytek Aurora scientific platform is used to perform cell sorting. This cell sorting technique is used to process and analyze human samples on various projects across the NIH.  This maintenance agreement is needed to keep the Cytek Aurora running at optimal performance.  Cytek is the only company that provides service on this machine due to its proprietary rights to the hardware and software. PREMIUM Service Contract includes 2 preventive maintenance inspections per year; all non-consumable parts, travel, and labor for repair visits; 24-hour (maximum) response time for technical support and 48-hour (maximum) response time for non-functional instruments, with escalation to the top of our priority field service job queue; on-site and remote assistance, including assistance with panel design, data analysis, assay optimization and troubleshooting, and general scientific consultation (“TAS assistance”), by a dedicated regional Technical Applications Specialist (TAS); unlimited telephone technical support. This specific instrument is coming off purchase warranty has had numerous factory repairs; in order to retain the extended warranty on certain parts, Cytek’s manufacturer service plan must be utilized at this time.

The statutory authority for this sole source requirement is 41 U.S.C. 1901 (e) (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 proving they meet all the specifications outlined via email (subject line to reference NOI-NIAID-24-2220346) to Dana Monroe at dana.monroe@nih.gov, by Wednesday, April 29, 2024 by 5:00pm eastern time. 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.