Non-Human Macaque Primates Acquisition, testing, transportation

Sources Sought Notice/ Notice of Intent # HHS-NIH-OD-OLAO-SS-Primates-0318 The National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of the Director, Office of Acquisitions, intends to negotiate on a sole source basis with University of Washington for the supply of Pig-tailed/ Macaque Primates, pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation FAR) 6.302-1 only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. This pre- solicitation notice is being conducted in part as a Market Survey to find qualified organizations that can fulfill this requirement. This also includes small business concerns, 8(a) small businesses, Woman-owned, small disadvantaged businesses, HUBZone small businesses and Service-disabled Veteran small business concerns with the appropriate corporate infrastructure and operational capabilities to adequately provide the services described in the Statement of Work. The intended procurement will be classified under NAICS 112990 Code. Title: Non-Human Macaque Primates Acquisition, testing, transportation 1. BACKGROUND A. Background Information 2. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), Office of Research Services (ORS), Division of Veterinary Resources (DVR), provides NIH Intramural programs with the service and facilities to acquire and house Non-Human Primates (NHPs) needed for research that is conducted at the NIH. DVR is a service organization that provides the acquisition, quarantine and conditioning facility for most of the NHPs used at the NIH. 3. OBJECTIVES The objective of this Statement of Work (SOW) is to get a qualified contractor to provide Pig-tailed/ Macaque Primates as requested. A. General Requirements Independently, and not as an agent of the Government, the Contractor shall furnish requested primates, as well as serological testing transportation and holding services as requested by individual orders which should meet the specifications further described herein. B. Specific Requirements 12 pigtail macaques ( Macaca nemestrina), 2-6 yrs of age, males, SPF as noted below. C. Technical requirements 1. Macaca Nemestrina (Pigtailed), SPF A. Disease Prevention and Health Status: All animals provided under this contract shall be quarantined and screened in the USA for a minimum of thirty-one (31) days and be in overt good health upon arrival at the NIH or other designated facility. In addition, the animals must be research naive, physically sound and healthy, free of wounds, external parasites, and clinical signs of disease prior to shipment. No animal shall be shipped to the NIH or other designated facility that has a history of illness without the prior approval of the COR. A record of each individual animal shall accompany shipment to include sire and dam, date of birth, sex, and all medical records of clinical tests and results, treatments, and physical exams including body conditioning score. An electronic copy of the medical record shall be submitted to the COR not later than 5 business days prior to shipment for review and approval. All animals shall be identified by individual tattoo numbers, placed on the chest of the animal. Prior to arrival all animals shall have no record of a positive TB test and shall have been TB tested a minimum of three times, one within 15 days of shipment, test negative at minimum of one (1) time for Herpes B virus, SRV1, SRV2, SRV5, SIV and STLV-I by serology and test negative one (1) time for SRV1, SRV2, and SRV5 by PCR. Animals shall be returned to the vendor and replaced at the vendors cost if animals convert to any of the above-mentioned diseases within 35 days after receipt by the NIH. The diagnostic laboratories used shall be approved by the COR prior to performing the required testing. No animal that must be tested for filo-virus shall be accepted under this contract, unless the contractor pays for testing required to comply with Center for Disease Control (CDC) guidelines, and the animal's cohort group test results are seronegative. Once an animal has been designated for the NIH and vaccinations are required by the vendor, all vaccines must be approved by the COR to ensure there will be no impact to the intended research. ALL ANIMALS PROVIDE UNDER THIS CONTRACT SHALL NOT HAVE BEEN VACCINATED FOR MEASELS WITHIN 1 YEAR B. Animal Acceptance: Animals shall be guaranteed to arrive alive and be TB negative for three (3) consecutive tuberculin tests, after arrival at the point of destination. All animals' disease status will be confirmed by PCR and serology for SRV-1, SRV-2, SRV-3, SRV-4, SRV-5, SIV, STLV-1, and B virus between 30 and 35 days post arrival at NIH. If animals test positive by PCR or serology, then the animal is considered positive. All animals shall be delivered in a physically sound and healthy condition and shall be free of wounds, external parasites and clinical signs of disease. Animals with clinical signs of disease will be rejected. Only animals judged healthy based on an examination by a veterinarian during the entry physical, which will be performed within seven (7) days after arrival, will be acceptable. This judgment will be based on a physical examination and observation of the animal's general appearance and state of nutrition. Animals judged as unacceptable will be returned to the contractor at no expense to the Government, euthanized at the contractor's discretion, or the contractor may allow appropriate treatment by the Government to render the delivered animals acceptable, with all such cost to be borne by the contractor as a credit to the Government. Animals will not be accepted from the vendor whose colony(s) are experiencing reportable diseases as defined by the CDC (yellow fever, monkey pox, hemorrhagic fevers [filo-virus or others]) or mortality or morbidity of greater than 5% for a cohort group of animals without the prior approval of the COR. In addition, animals will not be accepted from vendors that are experiencing positive or suspicious Tuberculosis results from Tuberculin skin tests, necropsy findings or lab results without the prior approval of the COR. C. Transportation The government COR will coordinate and make all necessary arrangements, including payment, to a USDA license transporter Transportation shall be in compliance with CDC and Animal Welfare Act Requirements Title 9, Subchapter A, Part 3, Transportation Standards. The contractor shall be responsible for meeting all requirements associated with shipment and delivery of animals. The contractor shall maintain close liaison with carrier personnel in order to assure the animals receive proper care, in accordance with USDA standards and AAALAC guidelines, during transit. NHPs shall be delivered in properly ventilated, escape proof, disposable, nonreturnable crates (cages). Each crate (cage) shall have separate water and feed containers for each compartment. Crates shall be in accordance with the country of origin regulations, USDA, CDC and IATA guidelines. Standard commercial marking shall be used and shall be in compliance with USDA, and IATA guidelines. Shipping crates shall be marked, labeled or tagged as applicable and shall include (a) contractors name and address; (b) delivery order number, name and address; and (c) total number of cartons in shipment. All ground transportation of nonhuman primates under this contract will require a USDA licensed transporter. Two drivers must be present in the vehicle if in transit for longer than 10 hours. At least one of the drivers must be an experienced animal care provider with a minimum of one-year experience. The vehicle must have at a minimum a mobile/cellular phone, flashlight, emergency contact list, animal bite and scratch kit, potable water, feed and fruit (provided by the pickup site), animal capture equipment (catch gloves and net) and a written driver awareness fact sheet on the precautions of nonhuman primates and Herpes B-virus exposure. D. Animal Housing / Per Diem Provide housing and care of animals identified for this request will enter holding status for pre-shipment testing and screening. All costs associated with animal manipulation normally associated with the holding and shipping of NHP such as but not limited to feeding, watering, twice daily health observations, sedation, physical exams, TB testing, pregnancy checks, sample collection and shipping for serological screening (not testing cost), routine clinical diagnostic testing and shipment preparation shall be incorporated into the per diem cost. The animals will be provided housing, care, and feeding in accordance with the Animal Welfare Act, Association for the Accreditation and Assessment of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC) standards, the PHS policy (The Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals) and USDA regulations. Any facility that holds animals on or is associated with this contract must maintain an Office of Lab Animal Welfare OLAW assurance, AAALAC accreditation, and registered with the USDA. The COR will be informed within three (3) business days of any animals that are considered in poor condition or have been found dead. Responses to this notice are not considered offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. Respondents should email their organization's capability statements to the address below by Wednesday March 7, 2018 @ 10:00AM. No proprietary, classified, confidential, or sensitive information should be included in your response. "The Government reserves the right to use any non-proprietary technical information in any resultant solicitation(s)." This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for the information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that its response is complete and sufficiently detailed. Information provided will be used to assess tradeoffs and alternatives available for the potential requirement and may lead to the development of a solicitation. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted. Any solicitation resulting from the analysis of information obtained will be announced to the public on FEDBIZOPS. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation. Submission of Capability Statements: Virus free capability statements should be e- mailed to Sharmaine.fagan-kerr@nih.gov by the deadline. Point of Contact: Sharmaine Fagan-Kerr, Contracting Officer, Phone: (301) 594-3744