Noitice of Intent to Sole Source to Agilent Technologies Inc.   28

Agilent Cross Lab Silver Extended Services Agreement for the Department of Laboratory Medicine

• Product Service Code: J066
• NAICS Code: 811210
• Place of Performance: Bethesda, MD 20892

POTS: 24-000032

Description

This is a notice of intent, not a request for a quotation. A solicitation document will not be issued, and quotations will not be requested.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) intends to award a fixed price contract with a twelve (12) month base year to Agilent Technologies, Inc. of Wilmington, Delaware 19808 on a sole source basis to provide an extended services agreement for the Agilent LCMS 6495 Triple Mass Spectrometer which is used for clinical analyses of patient samples in the Mass Spectrometry Department of Laboratory Medicine (DLM), Chemistry Service at the NIH Clinical Center (CC).

Agilent Technologies Inc. is the sole manufacturer and service provider for the Agilent 6495 Triple Quad LC-MS/MS proprietary parts, training, technical support, field service support, and software including all their ionization sources which are instrumental in performing clinical and research testing on serum specimens. These tests are so critical and difficult to perform. As a matter of the sensitivity required for the analysis of our low-level analytes, Agilent has been sending specialized engineers to optimize the ionization sources and maintain the instrument since the purchase of the instrument. To maintain the consistent measurement for our clinical tests, only Agilent specialized engineers can provide us the quality service we require, so a maintenance contract supplied by Agilent Technologies for the Triple Quad Mass Spectrometer is imperative.

In addition, Agilent is the only provider of the required parts and components. Only Agilent parts will fit the instrument and allow it to operate properly.

This acquisition is being conducted using policies unique to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13 Simplified Acquisition Procedures, Subpart 13.106-1(b)(1), For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT), contracting officers may solicit from one source if the contracting officer determines that the circumstance of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available. Contracts awarded using FAR Part 13-Simplified Acquisition Procedures are exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6-Competition Requirements.

Interested parties may identify their interest and capabilities in response to this posting. The determination by the Government not to compete the proposed requirement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.

Comments to this announcement, referencing this posting number, may be submitted to the CC, Office of Purchasing and Contracts, prior to the closing date specified in this announcement, electronically to the attention of Shasheshe Goolsby, Lead Contract Specialist, shasheshe.goolsby@nih.gov no later than October 26, 2023 at 6:30AM EST.