99--The US Army Medical Research Acquisition Activity intends to issue a sole source purchase order to Applied Biosystems, 301 Merritt 7, Norwalk, CT 06851-1070 for Taqman 1000 RXN Gold with Buffer A Packs and GeneAMP with dUTP Kits.

The National Bioforensic Analysis Center has the requirement to obtain 30 TaqMan 1000 RXN Gold with Buffer A Packs part number 4304441 and 65 GeneAmp dNTP s with dUTP kits part number N8080095 from Applied Biosystems, Inc. in support of national security in the NBFAC Molecular Biology Laboratories. The statutory authority permitting other than full and open competition is 10 U.S.C. 2304 c 1. The FAR citation is 6.302-1 and the FAR citation title is only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. Applied Biosystems, Inc. TaqMan 1000 RXN Gold with Buffer A Packs are critical to achieve the accuracy and stability of results in the performance of NBFACs RealTime PCR assays. The AmpliTaq Gold DNA polymerase included within the pack is chemically modified to be activated when the reaction reaches an optimal annealing temperature; this reduces the extension of misprimed primers in PCR reactions. The reagent also includes a passive reference I that normalizes signal in all TaqMan Assay reactions and corrects inter-well signal variation caused by slight differences in reaction volume. These are critical attributes that no other vendor of RealTime PCR reagents is able to provide. The GeneAmp dNTPs with dUTP kits are of the highest quality and purity of the RealTime PCR reagents currently found on the market. The reagents include a Certificate of Analysis from Applied Biosystems that certifies the products purity is 91%. This is a critical attribute for this product in the performance of high quality RealTime PCR assays. No solicitation document exists. Any firm that believes it can provide the supplies is invited to submit a written notification to the Contracting Officer within 15 calendar days from the date of this publication of this notice. Supporting evidence must be furnished in sufficient detail to demonstrate the firm's ability to provide the supplies. Information can be sent to USAMRAA, MCMR-AAA-P, ATTN: Jodi Cardoza, 820 Chandler Street, Frederick, MD 21702. No telephone requests will be accepted. Responses received will be evaluated; however, a determination by the government not to compete the proposed procurement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the government. If no responses are received, USAMRAA will proceed with the sole source contract.