INTENT TO SOLE SOURCE - RESPIRATORY PANELS - IDAHO TECHNOLOGY INC.

This is a notice of intent to award a sole source purchase order and is not a request for competitive proposals under the authority of FAR 6.302-1. The government intends to solicit a quote and enter into a purchase order with Idaho Technology, Inc., Salt Lake City, UT. The Department of Laboratory Medicine (DLM) at National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center (CC), Bethesda, MD, would like to procure the following item with this vendor: Item Number: RFIT-ASY-0001 Description: Film Array (FA) Respiratory Panels/Kit (30/pack) Unit of Issue: Package Quantity: 20 The Clinical Center is a clinical research hospital providing medical services for patients participating in human research protocols of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The Clinical Center (CC) provides patient care facilities and services for clinical investigations by the NIH Institutes, research in related areas, and other training programs. The Department of Laboratory Medicine (DLM) and its Microbiology section supports this critical patient care mission through analysis/sampling of laboratory specimens generated from these research protocols. The FA Respiratory Panel is a multi-plexed nucleic acid test intended for use with Idaho Technology Film Array Instrument for the simultaneous qualitative detection and identification of multiple respiratory viral nucleic acids in nasopharyngeal swabs obtained from individuals. Idaho Technology, Inc is the sole manufacturer and distributor of the above-referenced respiratory panels, which are used to help diagnose and treat patient disease in the Microbiology section of DLM. These panels are specific for the existing instrument (Idaho Technology Film Array Instrument, Serial Number FA1182), and are the only ones that can meet the needs of this patient care test and ongoing research protocols. It is therefore deemed in the Government's best interest that these items be procured through Idaho Technology, Inc. There would be harm to DLM's ability to provide suitable patient care if we were to take a chance on other respiratory panels during ongoing research protocols, specifically due to our time-sensitive mission and short turn-around times on providing laboratory analysis in support of critical patient care. There would be great harm to the NIH Clinical Center and DLM/Microbiology section specifically if there were significant delays due to changing over respiratory panels during ongoing analysis. As this is an award to a Small Business, the Government shall consider all responses from Small Businesses, as verified through the Small Business Administration (SBA) or as reported at Central Contractor Registration (CCR), that are received prior to the close date of this announcement. Written responses to this notice shall contain sufficient documentation to establish bonafide capability to fulfill the requirement. All responses must be received before February 13, 2012, 12:00PM, Eastern Standard Time. The proposed award date will be approximately February 15, 2012. Please email Doug Reed, Contract Specialist, at douglas.reed@nih.gov with questions or capability statements pertaining to this notice. No phone calls please.