The National Cancer Institute (NCI), plans to enter into a sole source procurement for 300 vials of Geltrex RGF BME with out Phenol Red 5 ML with Invitrogen Corporation; 3175 Staley Road; Grand Island, NY 14072-2090. The supplies and services herein are being procured in accordance with the simplified acquisition procedures authorized by FAR Part 13. The North American Industry Classification System Code is 325414 and the business size standard is 500 employees. The purpose of this purchase is to maintain uniformity in the NCI’s research in Angiogenesis. Angiogenesis is fundamentally important in tissue development, vascular disease, and cancer progression. The availability of high-throughput, simple assays for the study of multiple-cell biological processes, such as Angiogenesis, is essential for the development of therapeutics and diagnostics for disorders governed by these complex processes. This is a pretested biological product. To maintain uniformity in the NCI’s research in Angiogenesis it is necessary to purchase reliable pretested products. One of the most import features of this gel is that it must give minimal induction of angiogenesis when unsupplemented with exogenous growth factors (ie addition of 5% fetal bovine serum or 20ng/ml vascular endothelial cell growth factor, VEGF). ). The greater the angiogenic response elicited by the unsupplemented gel is, the less sensitive the final quantitative assay will be (the large the change [delta] between supplemented and unsupplimented gel is, the more sensitive a given angiogenesis assay becomes using this gel). Hence it becomes imperative to evaluate a large selection of commercially available gel preparations to determine which one is best suited for the highest sensitivity angiogenesis assay. The Angio Core routinely evaluates ten or more individual gel preparations (different lots) from several outside vendors and chooses one for bulk purchase based on the sensitivity data generated. This gel preparation then serves as an Angio Core standard for running the angiogenesis assays sited above and is distributed as a reference standard to the intramural/extramural communities.The NCI has tested similar products from other vendors and found that this particular lot produced by Invitrogen Corporation meets the standards and requirements to properly perform the research required. The commercially available product that gives the least endothelial cell response in the unsupplemented conditions throughout these analyses is chosen as the candidate gel for bulk purchase. Hence the most important feature a test support matrix should have to qualify as a gel candidate for bulk purchase is the complete lack of eliciting an endothelial cell response for any given assay screened. All commercial products were compared to the existing gel matrix used as the Angio Core standard and the candidate that was equal to or exceeded this standard’s endothelial response profile was chosen as the next generation standard. The Invitrogen product (Lot537681) satisfied this critical restriction demand. This is not a solicitation for competitive quotations. However, if any interested party believes it can perform the requirement as detailed they may submit a statement of capabilities. All information furnished shall be in writing and must contain sufficient details to allow the NCI to determine if it can meet the above unique specifications described herein. An original and one copy of the capability statement must be received in the contracting office on or before 11:00 am ET , on February 5, 2009. All questions must be in writing and must be emailed to Karri Mares [email protected] faxed to (301) 402-4513. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract 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 from the NCI, contractors must be registered in the Online Representations and Certifications Applications (ORCA). Please refer to http://orca.bpn.gov In addition; contractors must be registered in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) www.ccr.gov. No collect calls will be accepted. Please reference NCI-90042-KM on all correspondence.

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