Contracting Office Address Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Office of Acquisitions, 6120 Executive Blvd. EPS Room 6068, Rockville, MD, 20852, UNITED STATES Description The National Cancer Institute (NCI), Division of Cancer Epidemiology and Genetics (DCEG), Infections and Immunoepidemiology Branch (IIB) plans to procure on a sole source basis serological analysis of serum samples for IgA-VCAp18, IgA-EBNA1 and IgA-[VCAp18+EBNA1combi] plus nasaopharyngeal swab samples for human genome (beta-globin) and EBV genome (EBNA1) copy numbers from VU Medisch Centrum De Boelelaan 1117, 1081 HV Amsterdam. This acquisition will be processed in accordance with simplified acquisition procedures as stated in FAR Part 13.106-1(b)(1). The North American Industry Classification System code is 541380 and the business size standard is $12.0 million. Only one award will be made as a result of this solicitation. This will be awarded as a firm fixed price type contract. Period of Performance shall be from award through twelve (12) months. It has been determined there are no opportunities to acquire green products or services for this procurement. The Infections and Immunoepidemiology Branch (IIB) conducts multidisciplinary studies of carefully selected domestic and foreign populations, with the goal of clarifying the relationship of infectious agents, especially viruses, to human cancer and other conditions. Viruses may cause or increase the risk of malignancy through several mechanisms, including direct transformation, expression of "oncoproteins" that interfere with mitosis check points or DNA repair, expression of cytokines or other growth factors, and alteration of the immune system. While some viruses have been related to cancer for many years, new agents continue to be found. Nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC) is a virus-associated cancer that is rare among Caucasians but occurs at an elevated rate among Southern Asians. Rates of NPC are particularly high among individuals with a family history of this disease, but no specific genetic factors have been identified that can serve to guide clinical management of this high-risk population to ensure early detection and treatment of this life-threatening condition. Since Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection is known to be necessary for the development of NPC and individuals who develop NPC have been shown to have an altered anti-EBV serological profile, we have been interested in utilizing markers of EBV infection as clinical predictors of risk that can be used to triage high-risk individuals from multiplex families into differential clinical follow-up and diagnostic work-up. To date, we have successfully recruited over 2,500 healthy individuals from 358 high-risk NPC multiplex families, and have demonstrated that 1) these individuals have an 11-fold increased risk of disease compared to the general Taiwan population and >100-fold increased risk of NPC compared to US Caucasians, and 2) when using research-based tests family members with EBV serological patterns commonly observed in NPC are >6 times more likely than family members who test negative for these anti-EBV antibodies to develop NPC in the subsequent 5-10 years. VU medisch centrum has shown that high throughput ELISA-based anti-EBV serological assays are reproducible and amenable to standardization and clinical use. VU medisch centrum has shown that their assay can evaluate the predictive value of alternative anti-EBV antibodies to assess the reproducibility and reliability by calculating the percent positivity, positive agreement among the positives, and coefficient of variation (CV=SD/mean * 100) of a panel of EBV antigens that could be used to detect anti-EBV antibodies. This was a novel panel developed by VU medisch centrum. In addition since this study is a follow-up to a recent study which used the same testing with this institution, the same provider will be needed in order to obtain comparable results. Thus, this laboratory is the only one in the world that can provide the services and supplies required in this procurement. This notice is not a request for competitive quotation. However, if any interested party believes it can meet the above requirement, it may submit a statement of capabilities. The statement of capabilities and any other information furnished must be in writing and must contain material in sufficient detail to allow NCI to determine if the party can perform the requirement. Capability statements must be received in the contracting office by 11:00 AM EST, on August 21, 2012. For further information, please contact Erin Breedlove, Contract Specialist via electronic mail at
contact@example.gov. A determination by the Government not to compete this proposed requirement 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. No collect calls will be accepted. No faxed or emailed capability statements will be accepted. In order to receive an award, contractors must be registered and have valid certification in the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) and the Online Representations and Certifications Applications (ORCA) through the SAM.gov website. Reference: NCI-120146-EB on all correspondence.
