INTRODUCTION
THIS IS A PRE-SOLICITATION NON-COMPETITIVE (NOTICE OF INTENT) SYNOPSIS TO AWARD A CONTRACT OR PURCHASE ORDER WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME).

The National Institutes of Health, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), Office of Acquisitions (OA) on behalf of the on behalf of the National Institute of Digestive, Diabetes & Kidney Diseases intends to award a purchase order without providing for full and open competition (Including brand-name) to ILLUMINA INC for a NextSeq 550 Silver Support Plan service contract.  

NORTH AMERICAN INDUSTRY CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM (NAICS) CODE
The intended procurement is classified under NAICS code 811219 with a Size Standard of $22.0.

REGULATORY AUTHORITY
The resultant contract will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) FAC 2020-07 effective August 31, 2020.

This acquisition is conducted under the procedures as prescribed in FAR subpart 13—Simplified Acquisition Procedures at an amount not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold ($250,000).

STATUTORY AUTHORITY
This acquisition is conducted under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13—Simplified Acquisition Procedures, Subpart 13.106-1 (b) (1), Soliciting from a single source and is not expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold.  Contracts awarded using FAR Part 13—Simplified Acquisition Procedures are exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6—Competition Requirements. 

BACKGROUND
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) conducts and supports research on many of the most serious diseases affecting public health. The Institute supports much of the clinical research on the diseases of internal medicine and related subspecialty fields, as well as many basic science disciplines. 

The Institute's Division of Intramural Research encompasses the broad spectrum of metabolic diseases such as diabetes, obesity, inborn errors of metabolism, endocrine disorders, mineral metabolism, digestive and liver diseases, nutrition, urology and renal disease, and hematology. Basic research studies include biochemistry, biophysics, nutrition, pathology, histochemistry, bioorganic chemistry, physical chemistry, chemical and molecular biology, and pharmacology. 

NIDDK extramural research is organized into 4 divisions: Diabetes, Endocrinology, and Metabolic Diseases; Digestive Diseases and Nutrition; Kidney, Urologic, and Hematologic Diseases; and Extramural Activities.  The Institute supports basic and clinical research through investigator-initiated grants, program project and center grants, and career development and training awards. The Institute also supports research and development projects and large-scale clinical trials through contracts.
 
PURPOSE AND OBJECTIVES
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) has a requirement to obtain services to maintain the operation of DNA sequencing instruments located in Bldg 8. The NextSeq 550 sequencing instrument is used to provide those services. Continuous operation of the instrument is essential to our user base. 

The company will provide a qualified technician to perform maintenance as needed on an Illumina NextSeq 550 (asset # NB552189). This work is described as the Silver Support plan of the company, includes all parts and labor and replacement reagents.

Specifically, the NIDDK requires the following tasks:

TASK AREAS

TASK AREA 1 – 
Equipment Requirements – Remote Technical Support will provide a response with four hours of a request; there is a two-business day on-site response.

CONTRACTING WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME) DETERMINATION
The determination by the Government to award a contract without providing for full and open competition is based upon the market research conducted as prescribed in FAR Part 10—Market Research.  Only one source is available: Per FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) the Contracting Officer has determined BRUKER BIOSPIN CORP to be the only reasonably available source to provide the annual service and maintenance overhaul (CP10K) contract the NIDDK requires.  

ILLUMINA INC is the manufacturer and the only authorized dealer for providing maintenance for this instrument.

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE
9/17/2020 – 9/16/2021

Place of Performance
National Institutes of Health 
National Institute of Digestive, Diabetes & Kidney Diseases 
5 Memorial Drive
Bethesda MD 20814

CLOSING STATEMENT
This synopsis is not a request for competitive proposals. However, interested parties may identify their interest and capability to respond to this notice. Responses to this notice shall contain sufficient information to establish the interested parties’ bona-fide capabilities for fulfilling the requirement and include: descriptive literature, delivery timeframe, warranties and/or other information that demonstrates that the offer meets all the foregoing requirements, the prompt payment discount terms, the F.O.B. Point (Destination or Origin), the Dun & Bradstreet Number (DUNS), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov.”

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. The information received will normally be considered solely for the purposes of determining whether to proceed on a non-competitive basis or to conduct a competitive procurement.

“All responsible sources may submit a bid, proposal, or quotation which shall be considered by the agency.”

All responses to this notice shall be submitted electronically by 9:00 am Eastern Standard Time, on Tuesday, September 15, 2020 to the Contract Specialist, Amber Harris, at [email protected] .

Assessment of Capability
Lowest Price Technically Acceptable