"Production of B6C3F1/N Mice for NTP Studies"

This pre-solicitation notice follows a Sources Sought notice that was released on January 20, 2016 under NIHES2016120. The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) intends to negotiate and award a contract for the provision of B6C3F1/N mice for the National Toxicology Program. The National Toxicology Program (NTP) within the NIEHS is an interagency program whose mission is to evaluate agents of public health concern by developing and applying tools of modern toxicology and molecular biology. The program maintains an objective, science-based approach in dealing with critical issues in toxicology and is committed to using the best science available to prioritize, design, conduct, and interpret its studies. The evaluation of chemicals and other agents is generally conducted through a sequence of studies, which involve the exposure of laboratory rodents to these agents. Rats and mice are appropriate models for evaluating the toxicological and carcinogenic potential of these compounds. The NTP utilizes the B6C3F1/N mice to evaluate this potential. The NIEHS seeks a qualified contractor to establish, operate and maintain rodent production colonies under strict barrier conditions in order to produce approximately 50-100 per sex of B6C3F1/N mice at weekly intervals. Additionally the contractor shall be able to produce peaks up to 350 per sex of B6C3F1/N hybrid mice at about eight week intervals as requested for a total of up to approximately 8000 B6C3F1/N mice per year for the NTP research and testing program. To ensure continued production in the event of contamination, environmental systems failure, or natural disaster, geographically separate backup production colonies that can quickly be brought into production are required. For complete details, see the attached draft Statement of Work (SOW) dated November 2015. Mandatory Requirements: The contractor shall have an approved Animal Welfare Assurance on file with the NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare (OLAW) and shall be accredited by the Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC) at the time of contract award. All facilities, practices and procedures of husbandry, care and maintenance of animals used in the performance of this contract shall be in compliance with the Public Health Service (PHS) Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, the Animal Welfare Act Regulations, the current edition of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (the Guide), and all local, state and federal regulations. The Contractor shall have an active integrated pest management (IPM) program to prevent the introduction of pathogenic agents to animals housed in the isolator/barrier facilities. Failure to meet these minimum mandatory requirements will render any offeror's proposal non-responsive and it will not be considered for award. Solicitation Details: The Request for Proposal (RFP) is anticipated to be available on or about March 7, 2016. The RFP will only be available electronically and must be accessed through the FedBizOpps website (www.fbo.gov). All information required for submission of a proposal will be contained in the electronic RFP package. It is the offeror's responsibility to monitor the above Website for the release of this RFP and amendments, if any. All responsible sources may submit a proposal, which shall be considered by the agency. This notice does not commit the Government to award a contract. The solicitation is anticipated to result in one (1) award to an offeror capable of performing all aspects of the work described in the SOW. It is anticipated that a single award, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract will be awarded on or before September 29, 201 for a base period of one-year, plus four (4) successive one-year option periods. It is estimated that the level of effort is approximately 5,600 direct labor hours per year. This figure includes hours for the Principal Investigator, the Project Manager, the Geneticist/Molecular Biologist, and Animal Care Technicians. The NAICS code is 112990 with a size standard of $.75 million.