Cryopreservation Storage/Liq.Nitrogen

The United States Naval Medical Research Command is procuring cryopreservation and long-term storage services for nine unique humanized mouse strains from Charles River Laboratories in Wilmington, Delaware, under a sole-source, other-than-full-and-open-competition acquisition. This action is justified under FAR 13.106-1(b)(1) and 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) due to the contractor’s exclusive possession of these genetically distinct biological materials, which are critical to the development of medical countermeasures against militarily relevant infectious diseases such as HIV, malaria, dengue, and SARS-CoV-2. The service, provided under a Firm Fixed Price contract, ensures uninterrupted preservation of these strains in liquid nitrogen at CRL's facility to prevent loss from breeding failure or disease, thereby safeguarding essential research continuity and minimizing risks associated with transferring or reestablishing the strains elsewhere. No competitive solicitation is being conducted; instead, capability statements may be considered, but award is based solely on the necessity to maintain existing operations without disruption. The contract requires the vendor to be registered in the Systems for Award Management (SAM) with a valid Unique Entity Identifier, and failure to meet this requirement disqualifies eligibility for award. Performance will occur at Charles River Laboratories in Wilmington, Delaware, while oversight originates from the Naval Medical Research Command in Silver Spring, Maryland. Although no formal pricing information, delivery schedules, packaging specifications, or inspection criteria are disclosed, the scope is clearly limited to cryogenic storage and emergency retrieval readiness of the nine strains with no breeding, experimentation, or expansion duties expected. The acquisition follows FAR Part 12 as a commercial item procurement, and evaluation is not based on competitive scoring or trade-offs, but on risk avoidance and operational necessity. Key points of contact include Shamai Carter as the Contracting Officer and Dr. Sofia Casares as the technical cognizance authority, with all inquiries directed through the Material Management Department. No additional clauses, certifications, or socioeconomic representations are specified beyond SAM registration and sole-source justification.