This is a Small Business Sources Sought notice. This is NOT a solicitation for proposals, proposal abstracts, or quotations, and no solicitation is available at this time. 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 indicated below. 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 North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code specific to this requirement is 112990 with a small business size standard of $0.75 million. Background and Purpose: The Dale and Betty Bumpers Vaccine Research Center (VRC) at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institutes of Health was established to facilitate research in vaccine development. The VRC is dedicated to improving global human health through the rigorous pursuit of effective vaccines for human diseases including Human Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (HIV/AIDs) and agents with bioterrorism potential. Currently, the VRC is seeking small business sources that can provide year-round, daily maintenance of a specific pathogen-free (SPF) breeding colony of Indian-origin rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta). Any contract arising from any solicitation of will be executed on or about August 1 2012. Such a contract may be a single or multiple award for a base period of one year with the potential for future option periods. The proposed contract(s) will support scientific research directly related to vaccine development for HIV AIDS. The thrust of the AIDS project is to develop and characterize the simian model for human AIDS. This is accomplished by studying the pathogenesis of simian immunodeficiency virus infection in primates and applying that information to attempts to develop effective vaccines against SIV. The specific objective of this contract is to provide the VRC with juvenile SPF non-human primates necessary accomplishing its research mission. Requirements: The Contractor shall be required provide all facilities including those necessary for animal housing and segregation; technical and management personnel; equipment; and other resources necessary to adequately house, feed, and maintain the SPF colony in good health in order to derive off-spring from the approximately 404 serological positive founder breeders. The total colony size is approximately 815 primates divided into subgroups. A contractor may be required to support all or a portion of the current colony. It is expected that the Contractor will provide the VRC with up to one hundred fifty (150) macaques per year for the duration of this contract. To support the breeding program, the Contractor will also be required to provide a variety of logistical and clinical services including providing veterinary care, laboratory and diagnostic pathology facilities and services; animal quarantine; animal identification and records keeping/analysis; and animal shipping. For the duration of the contract, the Contractor shall maintain an Animal Care and Use Program which includes an Animal Welfare Assurance number provided by the NIH Office of Laboratory Animal Welfare, a USDA R (Research) Registration, and an Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care (AAALAC) International file number or equivalent. Additionally, the Contractor's standards for animal care, biosafety, and occupational health and safety must conform to the most recent versions of the Animal Welfare Act, PHS Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, The Guide for Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, Biosafety in Microbiology and Biomedical laboratories and Occupational Health and Safety in the Care and Use of Research Animals. Capability statements submitted in response to this announcement should demonstrate the Offeror's qualifications and experience with particular attention to the relevance of expertise, experience, qualifications, and availability of the key professional and technical staff with projects of similar size, scope, and complexity. Potential sources must document their current and maximum holding facility capacity, and also document their ability to provide all requisite facilities; skilled veterinary, technical, and management support staff; and clinical, scientific, and other equipment and resources necessary to maintain and enrich the current SPF breeding colony. Past performance is considered essential. In addition to demonstrating that the above qualifications can be met, any interested party should detail any corporate experience with work on Government or commercial contracts of similar nature and scope within the past five (5) years. The Offeror's capability statement will be evaluated for relevancy and potential capacity to meet the requirements as stated. Based on such an evaluation, the Government may make a determination to set aside all or part of any future solicitation related to this requirement for Small Businesses if applicable. Capability statements must be provided to the attention of the Contract Specialist referenced below by email no later than 2 pm EDT on January 23, 2012, and must include the respondent's DUNS number, organization name, address, point of contact, and business status (e.g., 8(a), HUBZone, etc) applicable to the NAICS code noted in this announcement. Any questions regarding this notice must be directed, in writing to LaDonna Stewart at
[email protected] no later than the date and time specified for submission of the capability statements. Collect calls will not be accepted. This notice is for informational/market research and planning purposes only. This notice does not commit the government to award a contract now or in the future, or to pay for the information provided in response to this notice. "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. 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).