Procurement of One (1) Bio-Rad ChemiDoc Multiplexing Imaging System or equivalent.

DESCRIPTION

This Small Business Sources Sought Notice (SBSS) is for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the National Cancer Institute (NCI).

The purpose of this Sources Sought Notice is to identify qualified small business concerns including 8(a), HUBZone or Service-Disabled Veteran-owned business concerns that are interested in and capable of performing the work described herein. The NCI does not intend to award a contract based on responses received nor otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted. 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 requirement is assigned North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code 334516 with a size standard of 1,000 employees is being considered.

NCI may issue a request for quotation (RFQ) as a result of this Sources Sought Notice. THERE IS NO SOLICITATION AVAILABLE AT THIS TIME. However, should such a requirement materialize, no basis for claims against NCI shall arise as a result of a response to this Sources Sought Notice or the NCI’s use of such information as either part of our evaluation process or in developing specifications for any subsequent requirement.
1.0    BRAND NAME OR EQUAL

This requirement is for the procurement of the brand name or equivalent instrument described in section 4.0. The Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) provision FAR 52.211-6, Brand Name or Equal (AUG 1999) is applicable to this requirement.

2.0    BACKGROUND

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute (NCI), Center of Cancer Research (CCR), Developmental Therapeutics Branch (DTB) investigates DNA repair mechanisms and the implications to anti-cancer chemotherapies. Specifically, DTB studies DNA-protein crosslinks (DPCs), a type of DNA damage that involves accidental crosslinking of proteins to DNA, and proteolytic enzymes that remove such proteins from DNA. Since many anti-cancer drugs kill cancer cells by inducing DPCs, it is important to understand how cancer calls might antagonize the effect of drugs using the proteolytic enzymes. The required equipment allows detection of multiple proteins at the same time using immunoblotting techniques. Such capability is critical in examining multiple targets simultaneously, which includes enzymes and substrates or protein modifications and modified proteins, in many different cancer cell lines and tumor samples.

3.0    TYPE OF ORDER

This is a Firm Fixed-Price Purchase Order.

4.0    SPECIAL ORDER REQUIREMENTS

4.1    PRODUCT FEATURES/SALIENT CHARACTERISTICS

The following product features/characteristics are required for this requirement: 

•    The equipment shall have the ability to acquire fluorescence, chemiluminescence, and colorimetric gel/blot images. 
•    The equipment shall be able to analyze the gel/blot images for quantification and molecular weight estimation.
•    The equipment shall be able to capture fluorescent images of blue, green, red, far red, and near infrared.
•    The equipment shall be able to capture images of multiplex fluorescent western blotting.
•    The equipment shall have the ability to automatically select the optimal light source by application, auto focus, and auto exposure.
•    The equipment shall provide stain-free imaging, which permits the normalization of bands to total protein in both in gels and blots.
•    The equipment shall be able to operate without an external computer and monitor.
•    The equipment shall provide a imaging area (minimum 7 in x 9 in) that can accommodate 4 gels/blots for simultaneous image capture and analyses. This ability is critical because the analyses often require comparison across multiple (up to 4) gels/blots.
•    The equipment shall include a touch screen (minimum 7 in x 9 in) for data viewing. 
•    The equipment shall be able to fit in the available space of (WxDxH): 22 x 25 x22 in.
•    The equipment shall have an ethernet port and USB port for exporting data. 

4.2    DELIVERY / INSTALLATION

The Contractor shall deliver the equipment within 30 business days of the purchase order award. The Contractor shall coordinate delivery and tracking information with the NCI Technical Point of Contact (TPOC), TBD at award. All shipping/handling (including FOB) and delivery/installation fees shall be included. 

Upon delivery, the Contractor shall notify the TPOC to schedule installation. The installation date and time shall occur within 10 business days after delivery. Installation shall be performed by, or under the direct supervision of, an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) certified operator.

The Contractor shall deliver and install the equipment at the following address:

TBD at Award
NCI/CCR Developmental Therapeutics Branch
37 Convent Dr.
Building 37, Room 5050
Bethesda, MD 20892-4255

4.3    TRAINING

The Contractor shall provide complete onsite training for full instrument operation to 5 NCI staff members at the above location within 30 business days of installation of the instrument.

4.4       WARRANTY

The Contractor shall warrant that any instruments, equipment, components, or other supplies (“Supplies”) procured by this purchase are free of defects in design, material, or manufacture for a period of at least one (1) calendar year from date of installation. 

The Contractor shall warrant that all consumables or expendable parts are free of defects in design, material, or manufacture for a period of at least 90 calendar days from date of installation.

Supplies which are repaired or replaced shall be warranted for the remainder of the initial warranty period or for 90-days – whichever is greater.

4.5    PROCEDURES DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Due to the current COVID-19 pandemic, the Contractor must pay close attention to the following delivery instructions. Please be aware that due to the fluidity of the existing pandemic, instructions may be updated as needed after award.

-    The equipment shall be delivered within the timeframe listed in section 4.2 above.
-    The Contractor shall:
•    Store or hold equipment until NCI is ready to accept the equipment at no additional cost; 
•    The equipment shall not be sold to another business in the event NCI is not ready to accept delivery due to unanticipated changes related to COVID-19; and
•    Training as required by the Statement of Need shall be made available and provided to required staff at different times and dates, if required, at no additional cost. 
-    Communicate and follow instructions from the TPOC to coordinate delivery, installation and training in accordance with the timeframes stated in sections 4.2 through 4.3 above. The delivery address and TPOC’s information will be provided at the time of award and must be included as part of the order/shipping label.
-    All companies delivering to NIH’s main campus shall comply with Commercial Vehicle Inspection Facility (CVIF) access procedures. CVIF will provide a list of buildings with loading docks.
-    Delivered items will be logged in and the loading dock Contractor or Government employee will attempt to contact the TPOC for inspection and acceptance of the package. In the event the TPOC is unable to accept the package, the equipment shall not be left at the loading dock station. The Contractor shall confirm another attempt will be made to deliver on another date, to be coordinated with the TPOC, at no additional cost.  
-    Deliveries shall only be made between 6AM to 4PM, Monday through Friday.

Note: Delivery personnel may be asked a series of questions related to recent travels and if any physical symptoms relevant to COVID 19 exist.

5.0    RESPONSE DELIVERY POINT

Capability statements shall be submitted via email to Contract Specialist, Elizabeth Tucker, at elizabeth.tucker@nih.gov no later than 3:00 P.M. ET on Friday, June 10, 2022 (06/10/2022). All information furnished must be in writing and must contain enough detail to allow the NCI to determine if it can meet the unique specifications described herein. Please reference number SBSS75N91022Q00090 on all correspondence. 

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 capability. 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, an RFQ may be published. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation(s).