SOURCES SOUGHT
A -- Development and Maintenance of a Long-Term Colony of Calorically Restricted Rodents
- Notice Date
- 10/15/2010
- Notice Type
- Sources Sought
- NAICS
- 541712
— Research and Development in the Physical, Engineering, and Life Sciences (except Biotechnology)
- Contracting Office
- Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Mental Health, Contracts Management Branch, 6001 Executive Blvd, Rm 8154, MSC 9661, Bethesda, Maryland, 20892-9661
- ZIP Code
- 20892-9661
- Solicitation Number
- HHS-NIH-NIDA(AG)-RFP-11-146
- Point of Contact
- Craig D. Sager, Phone: 301-443-1193
- E-Mail Address
-
csager@mail.nih.gov
(csager@mail.nih.gov)
- Small Business Set-Aside
- N/A
- Description
- SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE Development and Maintenance of a Long-Term Colony of Calorically Restricted Rodents RFP No. HHS-NIH-NIDA(AG)-RFP-11-146 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; and (3) their size classification relative to the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code for the proposed acquisition. 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. The NAICS code for this requirement is 541712. BACKGROUND The objective is to continue to maintain and distribute a standing colony of aged, genetically defined, calorically restricted rodents for use by investigators in studies of aging. This colony was initially developed and maintained within controlled barrier environments where the environmental conditions are defined and the animals are monitored and characterized for disease status and markers of genetic purity. Caloric restriction, in which the calories are restricted to maintain a stable adult body weight but all other nutritional needs are met, is the only proven intervention to extend lifespan and improve health. Calorically restricted rodents are used to investigate the cellular and physiological biology of normal aging. A colony of aged, calorically restricted laboratory rodents, of defined genetic backgrounds and health status, is an integral part of the NIA's program of research on aging. Under the current contract mechanism, the original expected duration of the colony is nine years, however, a two (2)-year extension was executed because the NIA needed more time to evaluate the use of the colony before deciding on renewal of this resource. Development of the colony required acquisition of foundation stock, re-derivation of the stock to ensure that the animals conformed to the required health status, and development of the breeding colonies. This phase took approximately three (3) years. Once the breeding colony was up to its required size, animals began entering into the caloric restricted colony and entries are slated to continue through year 9 of the contract. The animals are housed in barriers to prevent contamination of the colony with disease organisms that would negatively impact the research for which the animals are provided. Precautions include filtering of the air going into the barriers, positive pressure in the barrier rooms to prevent mixing of air between barriers, requirements for staff to shower in and out of the barriers, and sterilization of all materials going into the barriers. No animals are returned to the barriers after leaving the barriers. For these reasons, the existing colony cannot be transferred to a new Contractor. Environmental requirements to protect the colony from contamination prevent the transfer of the colony to a new contractor. As it would take 2-3 years to restart the colony from the beginning, re-deriving new foundation stock and building up the breeding colony to sufficient size to provide the requisite entry levels into the caloric restricted colony, an offeror must detail a similar colony available for NIA utilization. The Statement of Work consists of these major phases: A. Breeding Colony Development; B. Breeding Colony Maintenance; C. Maintenance of the Aging Caloric Restriction Colony; D. Feeding Protocol; E. Environmental Requirements; F. Colony Evaluation and Monitoring, G. Shipment of Animals to Investigators; H. Cost of Animals to Investigators; and I. Reporting Requirements; I. Breeding Colony Development The Contractor shall acquire at the direction of the Project Officer breeding stock and shall re-derive the stock by cesarean section or embryo transfer. The Contractor shall provide to the Project Officer documentation of the re-derivation and genetic history of the foundation stock for the aging colony. Foster mothers shall be of a strain that is easily distinguished from the NIA strains by both color and genetic markers. II. Breeding Colony Maintenance Re-derived foundation colony animals shall be entered into the barriers without contamination by pathogens or parasites and shall be maintained as such. Discrete space shall be provided for the breeding and aging colonies within each barrier. Breeding colony animals shall be removed from the barrier only for monitoring of genetic purity or colony health, or for other purposes as directed by the Project Officer. In both colony segments, no animals other than mice and rats shall be housed within the barrier and no other types of activity other than colony breeding and maintenance shall be permitted in the barrier rooms used to breed and maintain the NIA colony. Breeding and maintenance of commercial colonies of mice and rats is permissible within the barrier rooms housing the NIA colonies, but activities such as surgery or euthanasia are not permissible within the same rooms as the NIA colonies. Breeding colony maintenance shall conform to the following requirements. III. Maintenance of the Aging Caloric Restriction Colony A. Rodents shall be weaned at 3 - 4 weeks of age and shall be permanently marked by tail tattoo to identify month and year of birth. Animals born in excess of the number required to meet defined levels of entry into the aging colony shall be euthanized unless otherwise directed by the Project Officer. B. Weaned rodents shall be housed individually and fed ad libitum until the commencement of the caloric restriction regimen. Caging must meet current ILAR and Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) (http://grants.nih.gov/grants/olaw/references/phspol.htm) standards. Cage cards shall include the strain, gender, feeding protocol (AL or CR when assigned), and date of birth. IV. Feeding Protocol A. Ad libitum (AL) fed animals assigned to the aging colony shall receive a laboratory animal feed, the formulation of which is consistent with NIH31 autoclavable diet with regard to ingredients, both in kind and amount. The kind of ingredient shall be absolute; the percentage of the kinds of ingredients may vary dependent on nutrient content, provided the final formulation post-autoclaving remains consistent with NIH31 diet. NIH31 shall be made in random weight pellets appropriate for feeding mice and rats. B. Calorically restricted (CR) animals shall receive a laboratory animal feed, the formulation of which is consistent with NIH31 autoclavable diet but is enriched 1.67-fold for all vitamins and minerals such that 40% restricted calorie intake provides 100% of the vitamin and mineral intake of ad libitum fed animals. This diet is called NIH31-Fortified. NIH31-Fortified shall be provided in known-weight pellets from 2.5 to 5.0 grams in 0.5 gram increments. The diet shall be of a consistency that prevents excessive crumbling of the pellets. C. The Contractor shall measure food intake in the first cohort (DOB) of each strain and gender entered into the aging colony, to verify that food intake in the new colony is consistent with the levels on which the feeding protocol is based. Food intake shall be measured by providing an excess number of food pellets of known weight each day and weighing the food remaining the next day. Food intake shall be measured daily for the entire cohort from the age of 5 weeks through the age of 12 weeks. The data shall be compiled in an Excel spreadsheet and the up-dated spreadsheet shall be provided to the Project Officer weekly. V. Environmental Requirements A. The Contractor shall provide discrete production space for each colony segment within the barrier or isolation area for that segment. This space shall be defined within each unit, and the animals held therein until the scheduled removal or expiration of the animals. Facilities set aside for these colonies shall be provided with all equipment, materials, and supplies necessary to maintain these animals effectively within the barrier enclosure in a stable condition and environment. VI. Colony Evaluation and Monitoring A. All spontaneous deaths in the colony shall be reported by barrier, gender, diet and age in the semiannual progress reports and on the weekly census report. Necropsies shall not be performed unless there is an unusual pattern of animal deaths or upon the direction of the Project Officer. Postmortem findings in such cases shall be tabulated, summarized, and provided to the Project Officer within sixty (60) calendar days of the death. Primary and secondary lesions possibly attributable to cause of death are to be described. Differences between colony segments shall be identified and reported in the semiannual progress report. B. Routine monitoring for disease and post mortem examinations is to be performed by either an independent laboratory approved by the Project Officer or the Contractor if Contractor plans, personnel and facilities are approved by the Project Officer. C. The Contractor shall provide for positive assurance of genetic quality control, by micro-satellite testing of a sample of the breeding colonies to detect genetic contamination. VII. Shipment of Animals to Investigators A. Animals from the aging calorically restricted rodent colony shall be distributed to investigators or laboratories only as directed by the Project Officer or the designated representative of the Project Officer. A copy of the most recent Health Evaluation Summary for the animals, prepared under VI.B. above, shall be sent with each order. VIII. Cost of Animals to Investigators Animals produced under this contract shall be made available to investigators under conditions as stated herein or as otherwise specified by the Project Officer. The cost of each animal to the investigators shall be determined by the Project Officer. The current charge is $6.00 per month of age per mouse and $12.00 per month of age for rats; these costs shall be subject to annual adjustment. The consignee is also responsible for all shipping costs and the cost of food ordered. Current charges for food are $2.00 per Kg for NIH31, $10.00 per Kg for NIH31-Fortified, and a flat fee of $12.00 per food type per shipment if the food is shipped by truck with the animals. If food is shipped by common courier, the investigator will pay the prevailing rate. IX. Reporting Requirements A. Semiannual progress reports shall include any unusual developments or problems involving colony health, genetic purity, environment or environmental control, and any differences noted between barriers. The report shall include the results of routine genetic monitoring and all laboratory tests executed either by Contractor as a routine part of the protocol or results from tests that have direct implication for colony health or development. All deaths or sacrifices from the colony shall be accounted for by barrier, gender, diet and age of the animal sacrificed or expired. Unusual problems shall be reported to the Project Officer immediately. Semiannual progress reports shall be submitted to the Project Officer within fifteen (15) calendar days of the end of each six-month period of the contract. The initial report shall be submitted for the first full six months of the contract performance including any fractional part of the initial month. Thereafter, the reporting period shall consist of six full calendar months. A semiannual report will not be required for the period when the final report is due. B. A weekly census report, A weekly up-date of the food intake measurements during the initiation of the aging colony and a complete quarterly health monitoring reports shall be submitted to the Project Officer. Respondents to this notice must provide, as part of their responses, a capability statement to include the following: (1) information regarding the respondents' (a) staff expertise, including their availability, experience, background with existing Long-Term Colony of Calorically Restricted Rodents, and formal and other training; (b) current in-house capability and capacity to perform the work, including access to the identified caloric restricted colony; (c) prior completed projects of similar nature; (d) corporate experience and management capability; and (e) examples of prior completed Government contracts, references, and other related information; (2) respondents' DUNS number, organization name, address, point of contact, and size and type of business (e.g., 8(a), HUBZone, etc.) pursuant to the applicable NAICS code; and, (3) any other information that may be helpful. Respondents must send two original copies via mail and one electronic copy via email; (4) responses should be received no later than October 22, 2010 at 2:00 PM Local Time; (5) include respondents' technical and administrative points of contact, including names, titles, addresses, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail addresses; and (6) send responses to this notice via email to csager@mail.nih.gov The original statements mailed using the U.S. Postal Service should be sent to ATTN: Craig Sager, National Institutes of Health, Office of Acquisitions - NIDA Neuroscience COAC, NIA R&D Contracts Management Section, 6001 Executive Boulevard, Room 8154, MSC 9661, Bethesda, MD 20892-9661. If using a courier service such as the UPS, Federal Express, etc., change the City, State and Zip Code to Rockville, MD 20852. (Please be aware that the U.S. Postal Service's "Express Mail" DOES NOT deliver to the Rockville, Maryland address.) This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract. 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. 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). Contracting Office Address: Contracts Management Branch 6001 Executive Blvd, Rm 8154, MSC 9661 Bethesda, Maryland 20892-9661 Primary Point of Contact.: Craig Sager, Contracting Officer csager@mail.nih.gov Phone: (301) 443-1193 Fax: (301) 443-0501
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