Biospecimen Repository Services

NOTICE OF INTENT: The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH) intends to negotiate on an other than full and open competition basis. This will be the only notice of the Government's intent to solicit, negotiate, and award a firm-fixed price contract to one source. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION FOR COMPETITIVE QUOTATIONS. The statutory authority for this sole source requirement is 41 U.S.C. 1901 as implemented by 13.106-1(b)(1), Soliciting from a single source, under the authority of Simplified Acquisition Procedures (41 U.S.C. 1901). SERVICE INFORMATION: NIAID anticipates awarding a contract by 07/31/2021 to Fisher BioServices, Inc., 14665 Rothgeb Drive, Rockville, MD 20850 for biospecimen repository services. See the attached SOW for details on the requirements. All responsible sources may submit a capability quotation, which shall be considered by the agency, via email to Christine Illanes at contact@example.gov by 6:00 PM on July 23, 2021. All information furnished must be in writing and must contain sufficient detail to allow NIAID to determine if it can meet the above unique specifications described herein. A determination not to compete this requirement, based on responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the Government. Any response to this notice that is received after the closing date and time is late and will not be considered. SOLE SOURCE JUSTIFICATION: NIAID requires storage of 27 freezers, 7 liquid nitrogen units, and additional materials in ambient storage units. This is a large volume of NIAID owned freezer units that other local, biospecimen storage facilities are not currently able to accommodate. Additionally, a mass transfer jeopardizes the integrity and complex makeup of the stored specimens. Transport of the freezers increases the risk of not maintaining the optimum temperature, which can cause specimens to degrade. Many of the specimens stored at this facility are from research studies that were conducted over 2-3 decades and are a vital part of current and ongoing scientific studies. Fisher BioServices, Inc. is the only source that can guarantee no risk of damaging critical research material and jeopardizing the integrity of complete specimen data sets. Lastly, any transfer between facilities will result in an interruption to the access laboratories have to the specimens. This interruption may be only a few weeks but could be even longer depending on the protocols decided on for cataloging and preparing the specimens before the move and the procedures of the new facility for finalizing the transfer and reinstating access. Many studies are time sensitive and have a lot of working parts, including fellows working on studies, animals care facilities within NIAID DIR, and other ongoing research activities. For these reasons, only Fisher BioServices, Inc. has a large enough facility within range of NIAID laboratories to provide the full freezer storage, maintenance, and monitoring required under this acquisition. Additionally, transporting the freezers to another facility poses a risk to both the specimens themselves and to access during ongoing studies at a critical time. For these reasons, only Fisher BioServices, Inc is capable of providing all the services and meeting all the requirements for this acquisition.