Title: Influenza-free Ferret Supply for Improving Public Health This is a SOURCES SOUGHT notice for market survey to be used for preliminary planning purposes. This request is to obtain information regarding the availability and capability of all qualified sources to perform a potential requirement. No proposals are being requested or accepted with this synopsis. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION FOR PROPOSALS AND NO CONTRACT SHALL BE AWARDED FROM THIS SYNOPSIS. Background. The Influenza Division at CDC requires access to healthy ferrets that are serologically negative against all influenza virus strains. These animals are needed for i) the production of strain-specific immune sera for use as a diagnostic reagent and to monitor antigenic drift of circulating influenza viruses which is necessary to assist with influenza vaccine composition recommendations ii) the safety and efficacy testing of vaccine candidates against influenza viruses with the potential to cause a pandemic and iii) the evaluation of the virulence, transmissibility and antiviral resistance of emerging influenza viruses that pose a threat to public health. Pursuing these critical missions of the Influenza Division is dependent on a constant and reliable supply of influenza-free ferrets. Project Objective - The purpose of this contract is to secure a stable supply of healthy ferrets that are sero-negative against influenza A and B viruses so that the Influenza Division at CDC can provide accurate and reliable assessments of influenza surveillance, safety and efficacy of vaccine candidates and risk assessments of emerging influenza viruses that pose a threat to public health. Scope of Work - The contractor will provide the CDC with a monthly inventory of ferrets available for purchase. This inventory must include at least 50 healthy, male ferrets that are 3-6 months of age and are sero-negative against influenza A and B viruses. The contractor will provide up to 120 ferret pre-bleeds per month selected by the CDC based on the provided inventory list. Sera will be tested by the CDC to confirm sero-negativity. The contractor will deliver up to 120 ferrets per month in a single delivery each month based on the testing results and projected needs of the CDC. All ferrets will be transported in sealed, HEPA-filtered containers and in a climate controlled environment. Technical Requirements: Ferret Inventory Maintenance: All CDC-bound ferrets at the contractor's facility will be maintained inside of a HEPA-filtered enclosure. All staff entering the enclosure will wear appropriate personal protective equipment, including respirator to protect the animals from potential exposure to influenza virus. Any staff experiencing influenza-like illness will not enter the ferret housing enclosure. An up to date inventory account of available ferrets will be provided to the Contracting Officer's Representative (COR) at the CDC via email by the 5th day of each month and will include the dates of birth for each lot of animals. The ferret inventory will be maintained so that at least 50 healthy, male ferrets that are sero-negative to influenza A and B viruses will be available on any given month. The age of these ferrets will be restricted to 3-6 months at the time of inventory assessment. Each month the CDC will select up to 120 ferrets from the inventory to screen for potential purchase; the COR will communicate this selection to the contractor in an email. Delivery of Ferret Prebleeds: The contractor will collect blood samples from each of the selected ferrets and will isolate approximately 0.2-0.5 mL of serum from each sample. This will be accomplished by centrifugation of whole blood and transfer of the separated top layer of serum to a fresh, sterile vial that is labeled with the corresponding ferret ear tag number. Within 3 business days of the CDC's request for prebleeds, the contractor will ship the frozen serum samples via overnight delivery to the CDC so that they arrive on a non-holiday, business day. The contractor will also email the COR a list of the prebleeds (itemized by ferret ID) with each ferret's date of birth included. The sera will be tested for the presence of influenza antibody by the CDC and, based on the results, the COR will communicate via email which ferrets should be delivered to the CDC. Delivery of Ferrets: Up to 12 deliveries per year (1 per month) will be scheduled between the contractor and the COR at the CDC. Each delivery will be scheduled within two weeks of the COR's communication of screening results to the contractor. All ferrets will be housed in sealed, HEPA-filtered animal transport containers and transportation will occur in a climate-controlled environment. Transport containers will be positioned so that ample airflow is maintained during transport. Ferrets are extremely sensitive to elevated temperatures. Anyone loading or unloading the ferrets should wear personal protective equipment including a respirator to protect the animals from potential exposure to influenza during transport to the CDC. If ferrets are transported via ground, a back-up vehicle will be available in case the primary transport vehicle malfunctions. Replacement Ferrets: Any ferrets that die in transit will be replaced by the contractor at no cost to the CDC. Any ferret identified as sero-positive after being tested upon arrival at the CDC will be replaced by the contractor at no cost to the CDC. Anticipated period of performance. The period of performance shall be twelve (12) months base year with four (4) option years, twelve (12) months each. Capability statement /information sought. In order for us to know if the capacity at your company or organization may be suitable for administering one or more aspects of this requirement, please provide answers to the following Please explain, in detail, your experience, knowledge and ability to provide the following: 1. Your opinion about the difficulty and or feasibility of the potential requirement or proposed acquisition, possible solutions and approaches that may currently exist in the marketplace, and information regarding innovative ideas or concepts. 2. Your staff expertise, including your availability, experience, and training. 3. Your current in house capability and capacity to perform the work. 4. Your completed projects of similar nature. 5. Your corporate experience and management capability. Provide any examples of prior completed Government contracts, reference, and other related information. 6. Provide a rough order of magnitude (estimated cost) of the effort or time that may be required for completion of the work. Information Submission Instructions: Please include a cover page with the following business information: a) DUNS; b) Organization name and address; c) Do you have a Government approved accounting system? If so, please identify the agency that approved the system. d) Business size and type of business, (e. g., small business, 8(a), woman owned, veteran owned, etc.) pursuant to the applicable NAICS code 541712, size standards in number of employees which is 500. e) Point of Contact, phone, fax and email address of individuals who can verify the demonstrated capabilities identified in the response. Page Limitation: Capability Statements shall be limited to 15 single-spaced pages including cover page. Pages shall be formatted as follows: MS Word, 8 ½ x 11, 12 pitch, Times New Roman font with one (1) inch margins. Response Due Date: Submit capability statements via email to Thaddeus Rollins, Contracting Officer at
[email protected]. Responses must be submitted not later than 12:00 pm, Eastern Standard Time (EST) by March 29, 2016. Capability statements will NOT be accepted after the due date. The Government will not return capability statements received. "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 pre-solicitation synopsis and solicitation may be published in Federal Business Opportunities. 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)."