Provision of Bordetella-Free Baboons for Pertussis Infection and Vaccination Studies

The Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research is seeking capable vendors to provide twenty, six to eight-month-old, Bordetella-free, unvaccinated baboons for critical pertussis infection and vaccination research. This effort supports the refinement of the only known animal model that accurately replicates human pertussis disease, aiming to better understand why current acellular vaccines fail to prevent infection while whole-cell vaccines are more effective at reducing transmission. The animals must be delivered in a single shipment to the CBER primate facility at the FDA White Oak Campus in Silver Spring, Maryland, and must meet strict health criteria: they must be free of Bordetella exposure, arrive in good health, and conform to specified age, gender, and weight parameters. Acceptance of the animals will occur at the destination by the Contracting Officer’s Representative following a quarantine entry physical conducted by the supervising veterinarian. Shipping, handling, and quarantine procedures must strictly adhere to the CBER Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee protocols, including the approved animal safety protocol ASP#2009-19 and the CBER Animal Assurance Number A4295-01, while transit logistics require coordination with USDA-licensed carriers and compliance with USDA standards. Contractors are also required to commit to accepting the return of animals that recover and clear infection after the study concludes. The requirement is structured as a Firm Fixed Price procurement under the NAICS code 112990 for All Other Animal Production, with no set-aside applied and a small business size standard of $2.75 million. The solicitation, identified as CBER-2026-134085, is currently in the Sources Sought phase, seeking market research to inform a future contract award anticipated on July 2, 2026. Responses must be submitted by email to david.kramer@fda.hhs.gov no later than May 29, 2026, at 1:00 p.m. Central Time, and must include a detailed company overview with SAM Unique Entity ID, size status, and contact information; a technical demonstration showing compliance with the Statement of Work, including ISO certifications and past performance records covering three years; and evidence of Section 508 accessibility compliance via a VPAT 2.0-based Accessibility Conformance Report. The contract will have a performance period from September 30, 2026, through September 29, 202