Contracting Office Address: Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Office of Acquisitions, 9609 Medical Center Drive, Room 1E144, Bethesda, MD 20892, UNITED STATES Description: The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), National Cancer Institute (NCI), Center for Cancer Research (CCR), Laboratory of Cell Biology (LCB) intends to procure, on a sole source basis, preventive maintenance for one (1) Government-owned NanoString Technologies nCounter System from 530 Fairview Avenue, Seattle, WA 98109. This acquisition will be processed under FAR Part 12 – Acquisition for Commercial Items and will be made pursuant to the authority in FAR Part 13.106-1(b)(1); and is exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6. The response close date of this notice for this requirement is in accordance with FAR 5.203(a)(1). The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code is 811219 and the business size standard is $22 million. BACKGROUND The National Cancer Institute (NCI), Center for Cancer Research (CCR), Cancer Genetics Branch (CGB), Genomics core requires preventative maintenance services for a government owned equipment. The CGB is providing multiple genomics services to advance cancer research. Using Next Generation Sequencing the core is able to provide necessary support for the studies of DNA/promoter interactions, gene expression, methylation, single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), deletions, insertions and genomic rearrangements. SCOPE The Contractor shall provide all labor, material, and equipment necessary to maintain and provide preventive maintenance for 1 government-owned nCounterSystem Serial Numbers: 1501D0288, 1504C0263 and 1906D0712 . All maintenance services shall be performed on-site in accordance with the manufacturer’s standard commercial maintenance practices. SPECIAL ORDER REQUIREMENTS PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE The Contractor shall perform 3 planned preventive maintenances during the contract period. Technically qualified factory-trained personnel shall perform Service. Service shall consist of a thorough cleaning, calibration, adjusting, inspection, and testing of all equipment in accordance with the manufacturer’s latest established service procedures. All equipment shall be operationally tested through at least one (1) complete operating cycle at the end of the preventive maintenance inspection to assure optimum and efficient performance. EMERGENCY SERVICE On-site, emergency repair service visit shall be provided during the term of this contract at no additional cost to the government. Emergency service shall be provided during normal working hours, Monday through Friday excluding Federal Holidays. Upon receipt of notice that any part of the equipment is not functioning properly the Contractor shall within provide a one (1) hour initial response with a four (4) hour on-site response a qualified factory-trained service representative to inspect the equipment and perform all repairs and adjustments necessary to restore the equipment to normal and efficient operating condition. Emergency service calls shall not replace the necessity for planned preventative maintenance. All labor and travel will be included. REPLACEMENT PARTS The Contractor shall furnish all required replacement parts at no additional cost to the Government, with the exception of consumables. Parts shall be new to original equipment specifications. Parts will be delivered the earliest next day. SOFTWARE UPDATES/SERVICE The Contractor shall provide Software Service and updates in accordance with the manufacturer’s latest established service procedures, to include telephone access to technical support for use of program software and troubleshooting of the operating systems, at no additional cost to the Government. The contractor shall receive advance approval for the installation of all software updates and revisions from the Government. Defective software shall be replaced at no additional cost to the government. The Contractor shall provide unlimited clinical technical telephone support (24hrs/day, 7 days/week) for troubleshooting for the instrument and clinical application support (M-F 8am-9pm), excluding Federal holidays. SERVICE EXCLUSIONS The Contractor shall not be responsible for any repairs necessitated by abuse, neglect, vandalism, Acts of God, fire or water. These repairs shall be the subject of a separate purchase order and shall not be performed under this contract. PERSONNEL QUALIFICATIONS Technically qualified factory-trained personnel shall perform service to nCounter System Serial Numbers: 1501D0288, 1504C0263 and 1906D0712 in the CCC Genomics Core, Bldg. 37/Rm 2135 , as covered by this contract. All primary service personnel shall have at least one backup support person with at least the same level of expertise on the equipment covered by this contract. TYPE OF ORDER This is a firm fixed-price purchase order for severable services. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE The period of performance shall be for twelve (12) months with four (4) 12 month option periods. 07/27/2021 – 07/26/2022 07/27/2022 – 07/26/2023 07/27/2023 – 07/26/2024 07/27/2024 – 07/26/2025 07/27/2025 – 07/26/2026 PLACE OF PERFORMANCE Onsite services shall be performed at the following location: NIH, NCI, 10 Center Dr Bldg. 37, Rm 2135 Bethesda, MD 20892 UNIQUE QUALIFICATIONS OF THE CONTRACTOR This equipment is manufactured by NanoString, Inc. NanoString is the only known service provider for the scientific equipment to be serviced under the contract. The equipment is highly specialized and complicated, integrating many proprietary technologies. NanoString is the only provider of service by factory trained engineers, and the only provider of OEM replacement parts. It is critical for the research community that the equipment mentioned above is calibrated accurately and maintained according to the manufacturer's specifications. Any deviation from the specifications could compromise countless hours of work, distort and destroy the integrity of information and/or compromise further studies, and significantly delay the laboratory's throughput. The software supplied with this equipment is proprietary, and updates and patches are solely available through NanoString. They have unlimited access to parts and technical support both of which are of a proprietary nature. NanoString, Inc. is the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) therefore: Can provide OEM generated software and hardware component updates/revisions as they are released by the OEM, at no additional cost to the Government. Can provide immediate access to a full range of OEM replacement parts. Have sufficient knowledge of multiple, complex OEM-designed/installed modifications on the Cancer Genetics Branch’s equipment that specifically satisfy requirement. They can provide toll-free telephone trouble shooting and email support that includes the latest OEM knowledge and recommendations by certified factory trained engineers. This notice is not a request for competitive quotation. However, if any interested party, especially small business believes it can meet the above requirement, it may submit a capability statement for the Government to consider. The response and any other information furnished must be in writing and must contain material in sufficient detail to allow NCI to determine if the party can perform the requirement. Responses must be received in the contracting office by 12:00 PM ET, on May 28, 2021. All responses and questions must be via email to Miguel Diaz, Contracting Officer at
[email protected]. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed requirement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. In order to receive an award, contractors must be registered and have valid certification through SAM.GOV and have Representations and Certifications filled out. Reference 75N91021Q00100 on all correspondence.