Management, Operation, Professional, Technical and Support Services for NIAID Animal Care Facilities

The purpose of this amendment is to correct a typo in a date in the previous posting. The content of the notice has not changed and no further responses are sought at this time. Introduction The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) was established to conduct and support research to better understand the causes of allergic, immunologic, and infectious diseases, and to develop better means of presenting, diagnosing, and treating illness. In support of this mission, NIAID executes a Strategic Plan for Biodefense Research and Research Agenda for Emerging Infectious Disease. Much of this research depends on the study of laboratory animals. Proper management of the NIAID program of animal care and use is essential for the welfare of the animals, validity of research data, and the health and safety of the animal care staff. The NIAID currently maintains animal facilities in seven (7) buildings on the Bethesda and Twinbrook campuses in Maryland (MD), five (5) buildings on the Rocky Mountain Laboratory (RML) Campus in Hamilton, Montana (MT), and maintains a research section one (1) building on the Division of Veterinary Resources (DVR) operated NIH Animal Center (NIHAC) campus in Poolesville, MD. The NIAD is also responsible for the operation of an NIH shared animal facility used by NIAID along with several other NIH Institutes (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; National Human Genome Research Institute; National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; and National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases The Scientific Directors of these Institutes have delegated through Intra-Agency Agreements (IAAs), the responsibility and authority for care of animals that are housed in the NIH shared animal facility to the Scientific Director of the NIAID. The NIAID also maintains animals in the NIH central animal facility. All of the NIAID care and use of animals is conducted in compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and guidelines in order to maintain accreditation by the Association for Assessment and accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALACI). The NIAID experimental animals must be maintained under carefully controlled conditions to minimize research variables and allow the accurate interpretation of laboratory result. Consequently, it is essential that animal colonies be consistently and properly maintained to avoid any situation or condition such as undue stress, disease, animal misidentification, animal escape, etc., the might adversely affect experiments. The proper care of these animals is integral to the research performed at NIH. Description The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), has an existing contract (Contract No. HHSN272201800014C) for - Management, Operation, Professional, Technical and Support Services for NIAID Animal Care Facilities, with Charles River Laboratories, Inc. This contract was awarded on a competitive basis, for a five year period, from September 14, 2018 through September 13, 2023. The Contractor shall provide a wide range of professional, technical and support services to the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) Division of Intramural Research (DIR) animal care program required for the proper care, use, and humane treatment of laboratory animals, and provide a wide range of technical skills required for the scientific study and manipulation of animals and animal products. Functions include: veterinary medical care, animal care, technical support, data management, cage and environmental sanitation, routine maintenance of animal care equipment and supplies, transportation, logistical, clerical and administrative support. Services will be provided on location at various NIAID and other Government facilities. Support will be provided to animal projects involving a full range of biomedical research and scientific disciplines with animal species that may include: mice, rats, cotton rats, hamsters, guinea pigs, gerbils, rabbits, nonhuman primates, ferrets, chickens, frogs, mastomys, swine, goats, sheep, bats, and other vertebrates and invertebrates. The scope of the contract is: to care for animals at NIH's research facilities in ABSL1-ABSL4 environments and support the facility and the research being performed therein. As noted in the SOW Technical Requirements, the Contractor provides the following services: Animal Care Animal Health Surveillance Management of Animal Holding and Procedure Space Usage Quality Control Research Support Services by Laboratory Support Specialists Facility Management Training Ensures Employee Standards for Animal Work Administrative Support/Logs The purpose of this acquisition is to extend the services provided to the Government via Contract HHSN272201800014C for six months through March 13, 2024. The NIAID intends to negotiate, under the authority of FAR Part 6.302-1 and HHSAR Part 306.302-1, on a sole source basis with Charles River Laboratories, Inc., to modify the existing contract to provide an increase to the required Level of Effort by 205,524 labor hours, for an additional six months of the current contract. Proper management of the NIAID program of animal care and use is essential for the welfare of the animals, validity of research data, and the health and safety of the animal care staff. Attempting to bring in a new contractor would result in a significant disruption to critical services.. The NIAID experimental animals must be maintained under carefully controlled conditions to minimize research variables and allow the accurate interpretation of laboratory result. Consequently, it is essential that animal colonies be consistently and properly maintained to avoid any situation or condition such as undue stress, disease, animal misidentification, animal escape, etc., the might adversely affect experiments. The proper care of these animals is integral to the research performed at NIH. Using the current contractor for the additional services allows for continuity of operations in this highly regulated environment and helps to ensure we are able to meet our regulatory obligations for animal welfare and ongoing studies. This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. However, responsible sources may express their interest by submitting a capability statement. All capability statements received within fifteen days from the date of the publication of this notice will be considered by the Government. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed contract action 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. This proposed acquisition was previously published under a Professional Support Services Sources Sought Notice that was posted on the Sam.gov website on March 10, 2023 as notice number HHS-NIH-NIAID-75N93023R00009.