Human Midbrain Dopaminergic Differentiation from iPSCs
THIS IS A NON-COMPETITIVE (NOTICE OF INTENT) COMBINED SYNOPSIS SOLICITATION TO AWARD A CONTRACT OR PURCHASE ORDER WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION.
(i) This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in Subpart 12.6 as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; proposals are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued.
(ii) The solicitation number is 75N95019Q00212 and the solicitation is issued as a request for quotation (RFQ).
This acquisition is for a commercial item or service and is conducted under the authority of the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13-Simplified Acquisition Procedures; FAR Subpart 13.5-Simplified Procedures for Certain Commercial Items; and FAR Part 12-Acquisition of Commercial Items, and is not expected to exceed the simplified acquisition threshold. The Government anticipates award of a firm fixed-price purchase order for this acquisition.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Office of Acquisition (OA), on behalf of the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NCATS), intends to negotiate and award a purchase order without providing for full and open competition (including brand-name) to BrainXell, Inc., 455 Science Drive, Suite 120, Madison, WI, 53711-1067, for Human Midbrain Dopaminergic Differentiation from iPSCs.
This acquisition is conducted as non-competitive for a commercial item or service and is conducted pursuant to FAR 13.106-1(b)(1). The rationale for this sole single-source justification is NCATS has been using neurons generated by BrainXell in research projects for the previous two years. For this ongoing research, NCATS needs to maintain consistency of data already collected over the past two years by continuing to obtain neurons with the exact specifications of maturation rate, quality and other characteristics as those previously generated by BrainXell. This is necessary in order to properly continue the research and accurately compare data gathered. In addition, BrainXell possesses a unique, proprietary mixture of growth factors that accelerates the maturation of neurons into fully mature neurons in less than five (5) days.
(iii) The solicitation document and incorporated provisions and clauses are those in effect through Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) Number 2019-02, with effective date June 5, 2019.
(iv) This requirement has no set-aside restrictions. The NAICS code is 325414 and the small business size standard is 1,250 employees.
(v) This requirement is for the following services: Human Midbrain Dopaminergic Differentiation from iPSCs.
(vi) The statement of work with a description of the services to be performed is included as Attachment 1 to this Solicitation.
(vii) The period of performance will be four (4) months and is expected to be from July 23, 2019 through November 22, 2019.
(viii) The provision at FAR 52.252-1, Solicitation Provisions Incorporated by Reference (Feb 1998), applies to this acquisition. This solicitation incorporates one or more solicitation provisions by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. The offeror is cautioned that the listed provisions may include blocks that must be completed by the offeror and submitted with its quotation or offer. In lieu of submitting the full text of those provisions, the offeror may identify the provision by paragraph identifier and provide the appropriate information with its quotation or offer. Also, the full text of a solicitation provision may be accessed electronically at these addresses:
https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far
https://www.hhs.gov/grants/contracts/contract-policies-regulations/hhsar/index.html
(End of provision)
The following provisions apply to this acquisition and are incorporated by reference:
• FAR 52.204-7, System for Award Management (Oct 2018)
• FAR 52.204-16, Commercial and Government Entity Code Reporting (Jul 2016)
• FAR 52.212-1, Instructions to Offerors-Commercial Items (Oct 2018)
• FAR 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items (Oct 2018)
• FAR 52.225-4, Buy American-Free Trade Agreements-Israel Trade Act Certificate (May 2014) Alternate III (May 2014)
• HHSAR 352.239-73, Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Notice (December 18, 2015)
The clause at FAR 52.252-2, Clauses Incorporated by Reference (Feb 1998), applies to this acquisition. This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. Also, the full text of a clause may be accessed electronically at these addresses:
https://www.acquisition.gov/browse/index/far
https://www.hhs.gov/grants/contracts/contract-policies-regulations/hhsar/index.html
(End of clause)
The following clauses apply to this acquisition and are incorporated by reference:
• FAR 52.204-13, System for Award Management Maintenance (Oct 2018)
• FAR 52.204-18, Commercial and Government Entity Code Maintenance (Jul 2016)
• FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items (Oct 2018). Addendum to this FAR clause applies to this acquisition and is attached.
• FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items (May 2019). The following clauses under subparagraph (b) are indicated as incorporated by reference:
o FAR 52.204-10, Reporting Executive Compensation and First-Tier Subcontract Awards (Oct 2018)
o FAR 52.219-28, Post Award Small Business Program Representation (Jul 2013)
o FAR 52.222-3, Convict Labor (Jun 2003)
o FAR 52.222-19, Child Labor-Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies (Jan 2018)
o FAR 52.222-21, Prohibition of Segregated Facilities (Apr 2015)
o FAR 52.222-26, Equal Opportunity (Sep 2016)
o FAR 52.222-36, Equal Opportunity for Workers with Disabilities (Jul 2014)
o FAR 52.222-50, Combating Trafficking in Persons (Jan 2019)
o FAR 52.223-18, Encouraging Contractor Policies to Ban Text Messaging While Driving (Aug 2011)
o FAR 52.225-3, Buy American-Free Trade Agreements-Israeli Trade Act (May 2014) Alternate III (May 2014)
o FAR 52.225-13, Restrictions on Certain Foreign Purchases (Jun 2008)
o FAR 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer-System for Award Management (Oct 2018)
o FAR 52.222-41, Service Contract Labor Standards (Aug 2018)
o FAR 52.222-42, Statement of Equivalent Rates for Federal Hires (May 2014)
o FAR 52.222-55, Minimum Wages Under Executive Order 13658 (Dec 2015)
o FAR 52.222-62, Paid Sick Leave Under Executive Order 13706 (Jan 2017)
• FAR 52.227-14, Rights in Data-General (May 2014)
• HHSAR 352.222-70, Contractor Cooperation in Equal Employment Opportunity Investigations (December 18, 2015)'
• HHSAR 352.223-70, Safety and Health (December 18, 2015)
The following provisions and clauses apply to this acquisition and are attached in full text:
• NIH Invoice and Payment Provisions (2/2014)
• Service Contract Labor Standards / Wage Determination. State: Maryland. Area: Maryland Counties of Frederick, Montgomery. No. 2019-4269 Revision No. 9. Dated 04/25/2019. 31 pages. *
* The applicable Wage Rate Determinations for all states and counties where work may be performed can be accessed here: https://www.wdol.gov/sca.aspx
(ix) The Government will perform a comparative evaluation of responses in accordance with FAR 13.106-2(b)(3) and award a purchase order from this solicitation to the responsible offeror whose response meets the solicitation's requirements and, as a whole, will be most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The evaluation will compare: Technical Capability of the services to meet the Government requirement, Price, Terms and Conditions, and Past Performance.
Responses may exceed capability or performance characteristics of the solicitation's requirements. The Government reserves the right, but is not required, to award to a response that exceeds capability or performance characteristics of the solicitation's requirements if it provides a benefit to the Government.
(x) The Offerors to include a completed copy of the provision at FAR clause 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications-Commercial Items, with its offer.
(xi) The clause at FAR 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions-Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition. Addendum to this FAR clause applies to this acquisition and is attached.
(xii) The clause at FAR 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders-Commercial Items, applies to this acquisition and is incorporated by reference. The additional FAR clauses cited under (viii) of this solicitation apply to this acquisition.
(xiii) There are no additional contract requirement(s) or terms and conditions applicable to this acquisition.
(xiv) The Defense Priorities and Allocations System (DPAS) are not applicable to this requirement.
(xv) Responses to this solicitation must include clear and convincing evidence of the offeror's capability of fulfilling the requirement as it relates to the technical evaluation criteria. The quote must be a firm fixed price with the total amount inclusive of all costs and fees.
The Dun & Bradstreet Number (DUNS), the Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), and the certification of business size must be included in the response. All offerors must have an active registration in the System for Award Management (SAM) www.sam.gov.
All quotations must be received by 3:00 p.m., Eastern, Monday, July 1, 2019, and reference Solicitation Number 75N95019Q00212. Responses must be submitted electronically to Mark McNally, Contract Specialist, at mark.mcnally@nih.gov. ;
Fax responses will not be accepted.
(xvi) The name and telephone number of the individual to contact for information regarding the solicitation:
Mark McNally, Contract Specialist, 301-827-5869, mark.mcnally@nih.gov.
Mark E. McNally, Contract Specialist, Phone (301) 827-5869, Email mark.mcnally@nih.gov - Jeffrey Schmidt, Contracting Officer, Phone (301) 402-1488, Email jeffrey.schmidt@nih.gov
