MODIFICATION
Q -- Tissue Culture Technician
- Notice Date
- 3/16/2005
- Notice Type
- Modification
- NAICS
- 621511
— Medical Laboratories
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Cancer Institute, Research Contracts Br., 6120 Executive Blvd. EPS Suite 600, Rockville, MD, 20852
- ZIP Code
- 20852
- Solicitation Number
- RFQ-NCI-50025-NG-01
- Response Due
- 3/30/2005
- Archive Date
- 4/14/2005
- Point of Contact
- Malinda Holdcraft, Purchasing Agent, Phone (301) 402-4509, Fax (301) 402-4513, - Caren Rasmussen, Lead Contract Specialist, Phone (301) 402-4509, Fax (301) 402-4513,
- E-Mail Address
-
holdcram@exchange.nih.gov, cr214i@nih.gov
- Small Business Set-Aside
- Total Small Business
- Description
- ***** Amendment to Solicitation **** The combined synopsis solicitation due date has been extended to March 30, 2005 as a result of questions that have been received in the contracting office. The questions and answers are as follows: Question 1: Can you please specify the supervisory controls of the technician? Answer 1: This is a non-personal service type contract with no Government supervision. The Contractor must work independently based on the tasks and duties described in the SOW. The Project Officer will be responsible for the contractor completing the work in a competent and timely fashion." Question 2: Can you please specify the level of the technician? Answer 2: There is no specific "level" for the technician. The contractor shall meet the mandatory requirements and qualifications as identified in the SOW. Question 3: What is the independence and level of involvement in planning and evaluation of laboratory procedures? (specifically in addressing technical problems, modification of methods and design of protocols.) Answer 3: In general the contractor shall work from laboratory protocols and with a high level of independence, in order to meet the needs provided by the project officer and drawn from the tasks listed in the solicitation. The level of independence will vary with the task. For example, media preparation will involve more independence than work with cells destined for patient therapy. In general, the contractor may be involved with addressing selected technical problems but will not be involved with the design and evaluation of new laboratory procedures. Question 4: Can we assume that "FAR 52.232.32, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer" should be "FAR 52.232.33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer?? Answer 4: 52.232-33, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer--Central Contractor Registration (OCT 2003) (31 U.S.C. 3332). Question 5: Is it safe to assume that the pricing quote to be submitted is the rate per hour since this is an IDIQ type of contract? Answer 5: Yes The original combined synopsis/solicitation entered on 2/15/05 was deleted due to an administrative error in the Classification Code. This is a combined synopsis solicitation for commercial services, prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Part 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. THIS ANNOUNCEMENT CONSITUTES THE ONLY SOLICITATION AND A SEPARATE SOLICITATION WILL NOT BE ISSUED. This solicitation has been set aside for a Total 100 percent small business, FAR 52.219-6. This solicitation includes applicable provisions and clauses in effect through FAR FAC 2001-26 (01/2005). The North American Industry Classification System Code is 621511 and the business size standard is $11.5M. The Government will furnish all necessary materials, equipment and facilities for the contractor to perform the required services. Statement of Work: The Surgery Branch in the Division of Clinical Sciences of the National Cancer Institute requires the immediate contract services of a laboratory tissue culture technician. The contractor shall work up to forty hours per week under a professional service contract to provide support for the Cell Processing Laboratory in the Tumor Immunology Section. This laboratory generates cellular immune reagents, particularly tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TIL), for treating cancer patients. The contractor shall support tissue culture tasks by providing flexible, ?on demand? tissue processing, media preparation, and application of highly specific cell culture procedures during periods of high laboratory through-put, as well as the maintenance of laboratory records associated with the contract work. This is a non-personal service contract, under which the contractor is an independent contractor. Contractor Requirements: The contractor shall have a college science degree and a minimum of two (2) years of work experience within the last five (5) years in these task areas: 1) Preparing tissue culture media; 2) Preparing viable cells from human peripheral blood and human tumor biopsies; 3) Establishing and maintaining human tumor cell lines and cultures of human lymphocytes under conditions that permit expanding the lymphocytes for patient treatment; 4) Maintaining laboratory records that comply with FDA mandated guidelines and established laboratory procedures. Tasks 1-3 require use of and extensive experience with Universal Precautions and cGMP laboratory procedures. Task 4 requires detailed record keeping, as described in further detail below. The services required involve prolonged periods of working within a biological safety cabinet with potentially pathogenic human cell cultures and tissue culture reagents. The job also involves moving within and between laboratories to transfer cell cultures, get reagents, and carry out procedures. Lifting 10-liter bags of medium is required. The contractor shall work an average of forty (40) hours a week, Monday through Sunday between the hours of 8:00 am ? 4:30 pm. except during vacation time. Weekend work will routinely be needed, up to 16 hours a weekend between the hours of 8:00 am and 4:30 pm, except vacation time. Contractor will not receive payment for vacation and government holidays, nor will the contractor receive extra pay for weekend work. There is a possibility that the contractor will have to work more than forty (40) hours per week for some weeks, if needed. Scheduling shall be made a week in advance and mutually agreed upon between the government Project Officer and contractor. The contractor shall record the starting and ending times of billable work each day services are provided, as well as the nature of the work performed, and shall email in Microsoft Word format or deliver the report to the project officer. The contractor shall perform the tasks described below, in the Surgery Branch facilities located in the NIH Clinical Center. The contractor is required to be proficient in all of the tasks described below. The frequency of performing each task shall be determined by the project officer, to be communicated to the contractor through email, verbal or written instructions as often as required to perform a task but no less than once a week. Demonstration by the applicant of proficiency in each task, including training and experience with Universal Precautions and cGMP conditions, can be verified by consulting the applicant?s references and verifying prior experience with each procedure. Additional NIH Clinical Center biosafety training, provided for the contractor, will be required. Training shall be provided after award of this contract. Tasks: 1) Prepare viable cells from human peripheral blood, using Ficoll-Hypaque gradients and established laboratory procedures that will be provided by the NCI to the contractor. 2) Prepare viable cells from human tumor biopsies, including tissue processing, culture initiation, and cryopreservation of human cells, using established laboratory procedures that will be provided to the contractor. The contractor shall be familiar with Microsoft Excel databases and Microsoft Word. 3) Establish and maintain tissue culture lines, including regular assessment of the cultures by microscopic inspection and counting cells, splitting cultures, changing tissue culture medium, and thawing and cryopreserving cells. Established laboratory procedures will be provided to the contractor. 4) Prepare customized tissue culture media according to established recipes provided for the applicant, in order to provide stock materials for the laboratory. The contractor shall make multiple 1 liter and 10 liter volumes as communicated by the project officer. Detailed records shall be kept on worksheets and in established computer databases, all provided by the laboratory. The contractor shall have experience working with standard biofiltration equipment. 5) Process serum for use in tissue culture media, including human serum as requested by the Project Officer. Processing steps involve serum filtration, heat-inactivation, and aliquoting. An average of about 3-4 liters per week shall be prepared. 6) Provide training in tissue culture techniques for laboratory staff. Sessions shall be primarily demonstrations twice a month without written handouts, averaging not more than two hours a month. 7) The contractor?s records of services, provided as part of fulfilling the bulleted tasks described above, shall be written according to established laboratory protocols (provided for the contractor by the laboratory) and as mandated by FDA regulations. The records commonly are laboratory notebooks and include details such as identification of the laboratory procedure, the recovery, growth, and viability of cells, culture manipulations, quality control testing data, and reagent information such as the amount, source, lot number and expiration date. Records shall be maintained primarily as hard copy, but also in computer formats, using Microsoft Excel and Word by accessing existing laboratory records through a government computer interface (provided by the laboratory). The contractor will be provided with an NCI username and clearance to selected Surgery Branch data files. ACCESS TO NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH (NIH) ELECTRONIC MAIL All Contractor staff that have access to and use of NIH electronic mail (e-mail) must identify themselves as contractors on all outgoing e-mail messages, including those that are sent in reply or are forwarded to another user. To best comply with this requirement, the contractor staff shall set up an e-mail signature ("AutoSignature") or an electronic business card ("V-card") on each contractor employee's computer system and/or Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) that will automatically display "Contractor" in the signature area of all e-mails sent. Quality Assurance: The contractor shall carry out quality control procedures for the generated products and shall maintain laboratory records for these services, using both hard copy and computer formats in Microsoft Excel or Word that meet standard laboratory record keeping and requirements associated with generating products for treating patients enrolled in clinical protocols. The contractor shall function with a high level of independence from a list of needs drawn from the tasks noted above and provided by the project officer several times a week. The contractor shall have the responsibility for organizing and carrying out assignments and for quality control of the products generated. Inspection and acceptance of tissue culture media and cells will be performed by the Surgery Branch laboratory staff. PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE: Base Year: March 15, 2005 ? March 14, 2006, Option Year 1: March 15, 2006 ? March 14, 2007, Option Year 2: March 15, 2007 ? March 14, 2008, Option Year 3: March 15, 2008 ? March 14, 2009, Option Year 4: March 15, 2009 ? March 14, 2010. An Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) type contract will be issued. The minimum number of hours required for the base year and each option is 260 hours and the maximum number of hours for the base year and each option is 2,600 hours. BASIS FOR AWARD: Award will be made, subject to available funding and quoter responsibility, to that acceptable quote, the price or cost of which is not necessarily the lowest, but which is sufficiently more advantageous to the Government than the lowest offer so as to justify the payment of additional amounts, based on the evaluation criteria described in this section. The technical proposal and offer should clearly and fully demonstrate the offeror's capabilities, knowledge and experience regarding the technical requirements described below. Failure to respond explicitly to each of the categories and subcategories listed below may result in the offerors? quotation being deemed technically unacceptable. FORMAT AND INFORMATION FOR SUBMITTING A QUOTE: Please submit ONE (1) original plus FOUR (4) copies of entire quotation: Please submit your quotation in the following fashion: VOLUME 1: Contract and Pricing Documents: 1) Signed SF1449 (page 1, blocks 17a, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 30a, 30b, 30c and other pricing information); 2) Signed amendments (if applicable); 3) Representations and Certifications (check off and fill in blocks noted in 52.212-3 of this 8 page document). VOLUME 2: Technical Proposal (60 points): The proposed technical resolution (shall include, but is not limited to the following: 1A) Contractor shall have a minimum of 2 years experience within the last 5 years: a) isolating cells from human peripheral blood and human tumor biopsies, b) establishing and maintaining; i) human tumor cell lines and ii) cultures of human lymphocytes established and maintained under conditions suitable for expansion for patient treatment and, c) preparing customized tissue culture media, including serum. Items one (1) ? three (3) shall include the use of Universal Precautions, cGMP laboratory procedures, and detailed record keeping. 2B) A resume including qualifications, 1-4 pages outlining training, experience, and honors or awards. Provide documentation in the resume describing experience in the areas listed above under 1A. 3C) Citations of authored publications ? contractor may submit up to a maximum of eight (8) full-length items, such as journal articles and abstracts. Submissions may be in hard copy or, if published as such, an Internet web page. VOLUME 3: Past Performance (40 Points): The past performance shall demonstrate the contractor?s background and experience of the proposed personnel. The contractor shall provide: 1A) A minimum of three (3) references to include organization name, address, telephone number, a point of contact, a description of services provided, and the contract value (if appropriate). These references should be directly linked to the areas described above under 1A. The Evaluation Process: The Government will award a contract resulting from this quotation to the responsible contractor whose quote conforming to the quotation will be the most advantageous to the Government, price and other factors considered. The following evaluation factors shall be used to evaluate the prospective contractors. 1) Technical Capability, 2) Past Performance, 3) Price. Of the three (3) technical evaluation factors listed above, factor one (1), Technical Capability, is considered to be more important than factors two (2) and three (3), Past Performance and Price. Cost (Price will be evaluated separately from technical capability and past performance but, will not be scored.) Payment: The contractor shall invoice monthly for services provided. The Section Chief or an appointed person will verify the laboratory record before authorizing the payment request. Final payment will be issued after the submission and approval by the government of final document(s). FAR 52.212-1, INSTRUCTIONS TO OFFERORS COMMERCIAL ITEMS and FAR 52.212-3, OFFEROR REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS ? COMMERCIAL ITEMS, along with the DUNS NUMBER ADDENDUM. The resulting contract will incorporate FAR 52.212-4, CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS - COMMERCIAL ITEMS and FAR 52.212-5, CONTRACT TERMS AND CONDITIONS REQUIRED TO IMPLEMENT STATUTES OR EXECUTIVE ORDERS ? COMMERCIAL ITEMS. The following FAR Clauses cited in paragraph (b) of the clause at 52.212-5 are applicable to this acquisition. FAR Clause 52.216-18 Ordering; FAR Clause 52.216-19 Order Limitations: paragraph (A) Minimum order 260 hours, paragraph (B)(1) Maximum order 2,600 hours for each, base year and options. FAR Clause 52.216-22 Indefinite -Quantity, FAR 52.217-5 Evaluation of Options, FAR Clause 52.217-9 Option to Extend the Term of the Contract, FAR 52.222-3 Convict Labor; FAR 52.222-19 Child Labor ? Cooperation with Authorities and Remedies; FAR 52.222-21 Prohibition of Segregated Facilities; FAR 52.222-26 Equal Opportunity; FAR 52.222-35, Affirmative Action for Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era; FAR 52.222-36 Affirmative Action for Workers with Disabilities; FAR 52.222-37 Employment Records on Disabled Veterans and Veterans of the Vietnam Era, and Other Eligible Veterans; FAR 52.232.32, Payment by Electronic Funds Transfer ? Central Contractor Registration. Note Contractor must be registered with the Central Contractor Registration (CCR) in order to receive an award. Interested offerors may obtain the forms and FAR Clauses via the acquisition web site at http://www.arnet.gov/far. Technical and price quotations, along with a completed Offeror Representations and Certifications- Commercial Items ? with DUNS number addendum, must be received in the contracting office no later than 1 PM on March 18, 2005. Please site the solicitation number RFQ-NCI-50025-NG-01 on all correspondence. Quotations can be mailed to address: 6120 Executive Blvd. Room 6072, Rockville, Maryland 20852-7194 to the attention Malinda Holdcraft. If you have any questions pertaining to this solicitation, they must be in writing via electronic mail or fax to holdcram@exchange.nih.gov or 301-402-4513. No collect calls will be accepted. No faxed copies or electronic quotations will be accepted. Contractors must be registered in the Central Contractor Registration in order to receive an award.
- Place of Performance
- Address: Bethesda, MD
- Zip Code: 20892
- Country: USA
- Zip Code: 20892
- Record
- SN00769816-W 20050318/050316211755 (fbodaily.com)
- Source
-
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