Description
This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR 12.6 as supplemented with additional information contained in this notice. This procurement is being conducted under Simplified Acquisition Procedures in accordance with FAR Part 13. This solicitation document incorporates provisions and clauses that are in effect through the July 2005 Federal Acquisition Regulation revision, which includes the consolidation of all Federal Acquisition Circulars through 2005-04. This acquisition is NOT small business set-aside and the NAICS code is 926150. This announcement constitutes the formal Request for Quotation (RFQ) and a written solicitation WILL NOT be issued. It is the intent of the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to procure authoritative herbal and dietary supplement information for inclusion in the MedlinePlus and MedlinePlus en español websites on a sole source basis from Natural Standard, Cambridge, Massachusetts. MedlinePlus is NLM’s web-based consumer information resource that includes health topic pages, drug information and other links to Internet resources of interest to the consumer. Currently, MedlinePlus receives over 60 million page hits per month. The inclusion of authoritative herbal and dietary supplement information is an important new feature for health consumers. Natural Standard offers equivalent content in both English and Spanish. The “bottom line” monographs are written at a consumer reading level. Natural Standard includes individual authorship statements, provides graded scales of effectiveness for any remedies, is based on peer-reviewed evidence, and contains references to the evidence. Illustrations accompany the monographs. The provider offers a choice of delivery methods including XML, NLM’s preferred delivery method. No other sources or combination of sources provides the features that Natural Standard offers. Further awards to any other sources would result in both substantial duplication of cost to the Government that is not expected to be recovered through competition and unacceptable delays in fulfilling the agency's requirements. The period of performance is anticipated for a period of twelve (12) months with options for four (4) successive one-year periods. The proposed acquisition will be procured under FAR Part 12 - Acquisition of Commercial Items. This is not a Request for Quotation (RFQ), nor is an RFQ available, however, all responsive sources may submit a proposal in a timely manner which will be considered by NLM. Firms interested in responding to the notice must be able to provide the services as specified above. Responses must be in writing and must be received in the office within fifteen (15) calendar days from the publication date of this notice. Proposal must include pricing information. Inquires regarding this procurement may be made to the National Library of Medicine, Office of Acquisitions Management, 8600 Rockville Pike, Building 38A, Room B1N20, Bethesda, Maryland 20894, Attention: Uyen H. Phuong, Lead Purchasing Agent, on (301) 496-6127. Fax requests WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. Vendor shall comply with all applicable Federal, State and Local laws, executive orders, rules and regulations applicable to its performance under this order. Full text of clauses and provisions are available at Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR): htm://www.amet.gov/far/. The following clauses and provisions shall apply to this acquisition and maybe obtained from the web sites: 52.212-3, Offeror Representations and Certifications – Commercial Items (March 2005) – with DUNS Number Addendum [52.204-6 (October 2003)]; 52.212-4, Contract Terms and Conditions – Commercial Items (October 2003); and 52.212-5, Contract Terms and Conditions Required to Implement Statutes or Executive Orders – Commercial Items (July 2005).