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Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs) are an official government contracting resource for small businesses. Find your local PTAC (opens in new window) for free government expertise related to contract opportunities.

This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations. The purpose of this notice is to obtain information regarding: (1) the availability and capability of qualified small business sources; (2) whether they are small businesses; HUBZone small businesses; service-disabled, veteran-owned small businesses; 8(a) small businesses; veteran-owned small businesses; woman-owned small businesses; or small disadvantaged businesses; (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition; and (4) availability of domestic sources manufactured in the United States in sufficient and reasonably available commercial quantities and of a satisfactory quality.

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).

Your responses to the information requested will assist the Government in determining the appropriate acquisition method, including whether a set-aside is possible. An organization that is not considered a small business under the applicable NAICS code should not submit a response to this notice.

This notice is issued to help determine the availability of qualified companies technically capable of meeting the Government requirement and to determine the method of acquisition. 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.

Background: It should also be noted that, to date, most animals procured from Worldwide Primates Inc., our routine domestic supplier of marmosets, originated from one breeding colony, upon genetic testing have similar ancestry, have generally been of poor quality and have arrived older than the age range specified in the procurement. The group being considered for procurement from a university are young, healthy breeders and, most importantly, of a different genetic background than the animals already in our colony. In addition, each animal has a defined pedigree going back several generations. These animals will improve the genetic diversity of our current NIMH breeding colony which is critical to our research mission and meet our requirement for a definitive pedigree to facilitate future research.

Purpose and Objectives: Our ability to modify the genome of various species has led to the development of new animal models to study human disease. These models have advanced our understanding of a disease’s origin, its progression, and possible intervention strategies. Rodents have been the species of choice for these models, secondary to their availability, ease of manipulation, and defined genetics. Over the past decade, a few institutions, including the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), have made advancements in developing a transgenic primate model using the marmoset. The anatomy and physiology of the marmoset are closer to that of humans than rodents. In addition, they also display similar complex behaviors in social groups, making them an ideal model for many human neurophysiology and behavioral studies. Therefore, over the past decade, the NIMH Division of Intramural Research (DIR) has invested time and resources in developing a transgenic marmoset research and breeding program to support the requirements of several investigators.

Common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus), also called white-tufted marmosets or white-tufted-ear marmosets, a New World primate, are banned from exportation out of their home country of Brazil. To further complicate the situation, there are few breeding colonies within the United States, and the few available have been derived from one commercial source and cannot produce enough animals to meet the research needs within the United States. Currently, there is only one commercial source within the US, Worldwide Primates Inc., and their animals are imported from one breeding colony located in South Africa.

Our NIMH colony was founded using animals procured from Worldwide Primates Inc. and is already displaying signs of inbreeding. It is critical for the survival of our program that we infuse our colony with new bloodlines and prevent further inbreeding. In addition, to meet the requirements of new research initiatives, knowledge of the pedigree lines going back four or more generations on all breeders is required to correlate specific gene modifications with animal behavior and neurophysiology. Therefore, the purpose of this procurement is to:

Expand the genetic diversity of our current marmoset breeding colony by inducing highbred vigor and concurrently meet the evolving research requirements of our program, by introducing four (4) breeding pairs of marmosets with known pedigree lines spanning four or more generations [four (4) Breeder Females & four (4) Breeder Males].

Provide for the preparation of eight (8) marmosets for shipment by providing veterinary and technician services, as well administrative support.

Salient Characteristics:

Provide sixteen (16) common marmosets (8 male and 8 female) for use as breeding animals, aged between 18 months and 7 years.

• Animals must be genetically distinct from animals already held for breeding at NIMH.


• Pedigree information going back to at least the great-grandparents of the eight (8) breeders being purchased shall be provided.


• Females must not be on pregnant for shipping.

All animals shall have a health record demonstrating a minimum of three (3) consecutive negative intradermal tuberculin tests, or an industry excepted equivalent test, over the lifetime of the animal or colony health records demonstrating that the source colony is free of Mycobacterium tuberculosis for the past 3 years.

All animals must receive an intradermal tuberculin skin test or an industry equivalent test no sooner than ten (10) calendar days prior to shipping and this test must be negative.

All animals shall be negative for common pathogenic helminth and protozoal parasites on fecal exam performed within 30 days of delivery.

All animals must have no visible evidence of external parasites (e.g., lice, ticks, mites, ringworm, etc.).

All animals shall be in good health to include well-fleshed and in good physical condition and be free of clinical signs of disease (i.e., cardiovascular, respiratory, intestinal, internal/external parasitism, no history of chronic diarrhea (lasting longer than 2 weeks), inflammatory bowel disease, wasting syndrome, etc.).

All animals shall exhibit no obvious behavioral problems (the animal does not exhibit any stereotypic maladaptive behavior such as self-clasping, self-biting, or consistent circling and there is no physical evidence such as bite wounds or alopecia secondary to excessive self-grooming, that indicates that the animal is exhibiting these behaviors).

All animals shall have a veterinary exam indicating each animal is healthy enough to withstand the rigors of international transport shall be performed within 10 days of shipment.

All animals shall be between 180-600 grams body weight, with a body condition score of 2.5-4.5 with 1 begin emaciated and 5 being obese.

All animals shall be negative for Salmonella, Shigella on two (2) rectal cultures performed two (2) days in a row within 30 days prior to delivery.

Additionally, all animals shall be tested one (1) time via rectal culture and found negative for Klebsiella pneumoniae, hypermucoviscous phenotype, within 30 days prior to delivery. Following rectal swab culture, the lab can conduct a string test on any Klebsiella pneumoniae strains identified (hypermucoviscous would be string test positive).

Detailed medical records for all animals shall be provided electronically for review and approval prior to shipment of the animals.

Quantity:

Common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) also called white-tufted marmoset or white-tufted-ear marmosets: Sixteen (16) – eight (8) males and eight (8) females.

Delivery Date:

We have an urgent need for these animals to meet the established timelines for current ongoing research programs.

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) the total number of employees, 2) the professional qualifications of personnel as it relates to the requirements outlined, 3) 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 4) 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 Tiffany Stone, Contract Specialist, at e-mail address tiffany.stone@nih.gov and Christine Frate,

Contracting Officer, at email address christine.frate@nih.gov.

The response must be received on or before August 12, 2023 9 am, 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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