Methylation profiling of gynecological cancers

Contracting Office Address Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Office of Acquisitions, 6120 Executive Boulevard, EPS Suite 600, Room 6068, Rockville, MD 20852, UNITED STATES. Description The National Cancer Institute (NCI) plans to procure on a sole source basis with Illumina, Inc, 5200 Illumina Way, San Diego, CA 92122 for methylation profiling of gynecological cancers. This acquisition will be processed in accordance with simplified acquisition procedures as stated in FAR Part 13.106-1(b)(1). Only one award will be made as a result of this solicitation. This will be awarded as a firm fixed price type contract. The North American Industry Classification System code is 541380 and the business size standard is $12M. Period of performance is for twelve months from time of award. It has been determined that there is no opportunity to acquire green products or services under this contract. DNA methylation at specific genes has been widely recognized as an alternative mechanism of tumor suppressor gene inactivation. For example, MLH1 is found mutated or methylated in mismatch repair deficient cancers, including a proportion of endometrial and ovarian cancers. A number of other genes have been described to be methylated in gynecological cancers, suggesting that methylation of some of these genes may occur at precancerous stages and drive carcinogenesis. DNA methylation is increasingly being evaluated as a biomarker. Methylated DNA is a stable analyte that can be measured from a wide range of biospecimens. Contractor shall analyze genome-wide gene methylation in gynecological cancers and normal tissues to identify important carcinogenic pathways and possible biomarkers for risk assessment and early detection. Contractor shall use Illumina Infinium reagents for the analysis of genome-wide methylation patterns (450K CpG sites) in 144 frozen tissue specimens and 96 paraffin-embedded tissue specimens. The Contractor will run the Illumina Infinium assay on the samples and will return them to NCI. The NCI researchers have long-term experience conducting methylation studies of gynecological cancers. Illumina Infinium is the only platform has been used in the TCGA effort, so for contingency purposes it's essential to use this platform. Furthermore, the Illumina platform is the only assay that has been validated for paraffin-embedded tissues. For a subset of the cancers NCI plans to analyze, NCI only has paraffin-embedded material available. This is not a solicitation for competitive quotations. However, if any interested party believes they can meet the above requirement, they may submit a statement of capabilities. All information furnished must be in writing and must contain sufficient detail to allow the NCI to determine if it can meet the above unique specifications described herein. An original and one copy of the capability statement must be received in the NCI Office of Acquisitions on or before 11:00 AM EST on August 30, 2012. No electronic capability statements will be accepted (i.e. email or fax), an original and one copy must be sent to the NCI Office of Acquisitions at the address stated above. All questions must be in writing and can be faxed +1 (555) 000-0000 or emailed to Erin Breedlove, Contract Specialist at contact@example.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. Information received will be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct a competitive procurement. In order to receive an award, contractors must have valid registration and certification in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) www.ccr.gov and the Online Representations and Certifications Applications (ORCA), http://orca.bpn.gov. No collect calls will be accepted. Please reference solicitation number NCI-120177-EB on all correspondence.