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This is a Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of all qualified sources to perform a potential requirement.

This notice is issued to help determine the availability of qualified companies technically capable of meeting the Government requirement, to determine the method of acquisition, and availability of domestic sources manufactured in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities and of a satisfactory quality. It is not to be construed as a commitment by the Government to issue a solicitation or ultimately award a contract. Responses will not be considered as proposals or quotes. No award will be made as a result of this notice. The Government will NOT be responsible for any costs incurred by the respondents to this notice. This notice is strictly for research and information purposes only. Small businesses are encouraged to respond.

For equipment/supply requirements, responses must include the place of manufacturing (i.e. address if supply/equipment is a domestic end product and include country of manufacture). For equipment/supply requirements, small businesses must also address the size status of the manufacturer under the applicable NAICS code (i.e. address Non-Manufacturer Rule).

Background: The National Institute on Aging (NIA) is in need of an automated, comprehensive, unbiased, and quantitative proteomics platform for the discovery proteomic biomarkers in biofluids acquired from multiple research laboratories. NIA requires a platform that has been designed to overcome the immense dynamic range problem of biofluids such as serum and plasma, which spans over 10 orders of magnitude and masks the ability of mass spectrometry-based technologies to detect low-abundance proteins, including the vast majority of proteins leaked from tissues, which are the most promising source of biomarkers of blood biomarkers. Secondly, NIA requires the item to include software that can tackle the issue of the scalability of large-scale proteomic studies, which are limited by the immense computational power required for analysis of large omic datasets. The software must enable determination of significant biomarkers, pathway analysis, visualizations, and other features for hundreds of proteomic datafiles within a matter of hours within the cloud.

Purpose and Objectives: The purpose of this requirement is to acquire an automated proteomic platform for quantitative and deep profiling of thousands of proteins in clinical and preclinical biofluids such as serum and plasma.

Project requirements: The following brand name or equal equipment is required: Seer Proteograph platform, including the SP100 automated sample processing instrument, sample kits for 1000 samples, on-site training and installation, Proteograph Analysis Suite Base Backage Software, and continuous maintenance.

Salient Characteristics:

• Five-nanoparticle panel


• Automation instrument


• Software to perform unbiased, deep proteomic analysis at scale in a matter of hours.


• Ability to provide the combination of unbiased, deep, rapid, and large-scale access to the proteome.


• Ability to provide insight into protein variation at the peptide level and protein-to-protein interactions at depth and scale for unbiased and deep proteomics which is otherwise unattainable with existing approaches.


• Designed to enable broad adoption across a wide variety of customers in both decentralized and centralized settings.


• Identify and distinguish protein variants at the peptide level.


• Identify and quantify post-translational modifications and protein-to-protein interactions.


• Be compatible across a wide range of laboratory workflows, sample processing and detection methods.

Anticipated period of performance: The anticipated delivery and installation of equipment will be 15 weeks following the receipt of order. A maintenance plan consisting of one base year with three (3) one year option periods is required.

Other important considerations: In case domestic sources are available and capable of fulfilling the Government’s need, and a future solicitation is published, the Government will use evaluation preferences in accordance with FAR 25.

Capability statement /information sought.

Companies that believe they possess the capabilities to provide the required products should submit documentation of their ability to meet each of the project requirements to the Contracting Officer. The capability statement must specifically address each of the project requirements separately. Additionally, the capability statement should include 1) any contractor GSA Schedule contracts and/or other government-wide acquisition contracts (GWACs) by which all of the requirements may be met, if applicable, and 2) any other information considered relevant to this program. Capability statements must also include the Company Name, Unique Entity ID from SAM.gov, Physical Address, and Point of Contact Information. The response must include the respondents’ technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses.

Interested companies are required to identify their type of business, applicable North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) Code, and size standards in accordance with the Small Business Administration. The government requests that no proprietary or confidential business data be submitted in a response to this notice. However, responses that indicate the information therein is proprietary will be properly safeguarded for Government use only. Capability statements must include the name and telephone number of a point of contact having authority and knowledge to discuss responses with Government representatives. Capability statements in response to this market survey that do not provide sufficient information for evaluation will be considered non-responsive. When submitting this information, please reference the solicitation notice number.

One (1) copy of the response is required and must be in Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF format using 11-point or 12-point font, 8-1/2” x 11” paper size, with 1” top, bottom, left and right margins, and with single or double spacing.

The information submitted must be in and outline format that addresses each of the elements of the project requirement and in the capability statement /information sought paragraphs stated herein. A cover page and an executive summary may be included but is not required.

The response is limited to ten (10) page limit. The 10-page limit does not include the cover page, executive summary, or references, if requested.

All responses to this notice must be submitted electronically to the Contract Specialist and Contracting Officer. Facsimile responses are NOT accepted.

The response must be submitted to Eric McKay, at e-mail address eric.mckay@nih.gov.

The response must be received on or before June 7, 2023 4:00 p.m., Eastern Time.

“Disclaimer and Important Notes: 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 to allow the Government to determine the organization’s qualifications to perform the work.

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. After a review of the responses received, a presolicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in www.sam.gov. However, responses to this notice will not be considered adequate responses to a solicitation.

Confidentiality: 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).

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