Publication and Distribution of Neurocognitive Assessment in Schizophrenia (NANS)Release Date: March 3, 2004 SOURCES SOUGHT NOTICE National Institute of Mental Health SOURCES SOUGHT- NIMH-04-SS-01 “PUBLICATION AND DISTRIBUTION OF NEUROCOGNITIVE ASSESSMENT IN SCHIZOPHRENIA (NANS)” Introduction: This Sources Sought Notice (SS) is for information and planning purposes only and shall not be construed as a solicitation or as an obligation on the part of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The purpose of this SS is to identify potential sources that may be interested in and capable of performing the work described herein. The NIMH does not intend to award a contract on the basis of responses nor otherwise pay for the preparation of any information submitted or NIMH’s use of such information. Acknowledgment of receipt of responses will not be made, nor will respondents be notified of the NIMH's evaluation of the information received. As a result of this SS, the NIMH may issue a Request for Proposals (RFP). In the event a RFP will be issued, NAICS code 511 – Publishing Industries (except Internet) will apply. However, should such a requirement materialize, no basis for claims against the NIMH shall arise as a result of a response to this RFI or the NIMH's use of such information as either part of our evaluation process or in developing specifications for any subsequent requirement. Sources Sought: The NIMH through UCLA , it’s contractor is finalizing an assessment battery for use in clinical trials of new medications targeting the improvement of cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. The battery will consist of individual neuropsychological tests selected by experts to reflect 7 key domains of cognition impaired in schizophrenia. Some of the individual tests included in the battery are likely to be in the public domain, while others are owned by third parties who have expressed a willingness to license their use in the NIMH Battery. NIMH wishes to make the test battery available for use in clinical trials to the widest group of academic and industry investigators possible in a rapid and cost-effective manner. Consequently NIMH seeks a contractor, with a well established national and international distribution network, to rapidly publish the NIMH Assessment of Neuropsychology in Schizophrenia (NANS) Battery, develop high quality and standardized test materials, and make the battery available for purchase at a reasonable cost to Federal grantees and at market cost to others. Contractor will be expected to recover test material development and production costs from exclusive marketing and sales of the battery. Since NIMH will initiate a clinical trial network no later than March 2005 that will use the test battery, expedited production of the final version of the test materials is a priority. In advance of selection of the final measures for NIMH battery (estimated October, 2004), the contractor shall negotiate licensing agreements and payment of royalties to owners of privately held test components that may be included in the final battery. A list of candidate measures will be provided by NIMH. Within three weeks of the final selection of tests, the contractor will commence creation of standardized test materials for both paper and pencil and computerized test components, and commence creation of battery administration instruction manual. Creation and production of the battery should be completed within a rapid time frame (within four to six months) to be agreed upon by NIMH and the contractor. The contractor will be expected to make the battery available to customers for a period of five years and to provide customer support to purchasers. A pricing schedule should be developed to offset development and dissemination costs, payments of royalties, etc. related to the instrument. The pricing schedule shall address how costs will be established to be reasonable to NIMH grantees, while allowing the contactor to maintain sufficient revenue to support the production and distribution of the test. The content of the final battery and order of administration of the specific tests in the battery is to be determined by the NIMH MATRICS Neurocognition Committee (www.matrics.ucla.edu). Specific Tasks to be accomplished include: 1. Negotiate licensing fees, if any, for potential battery components and secure agreements from component owners to allow use in final battery. 2. With NIMH Project Officer, agree on final form and content of neurocognitive battery. 3. Commence mass production and distribution of final instrument, including ensuring availability of customer support for at least five years. 4. Create and copyright user manual describing standardized procedures for administration and scoring of Test Battery. 5. Create high quality standardized version of all paper and pencil and computer based battery modules. 6. Create and copyright computer program to enter test data and generate reports for export into clinical trial databases. Provide NIMH with access to computer codes supporting computerized modules. 7. Deliver report describing marketing plan for final battery including use of extant distribution networks and sales strategies. 8. By March 2005 deliver 200 copies of test materials to the NIMH Project Officer to support the TURNS clinical trial network. 9. Maintain battery in inventory for purchase by NIMH grantees and other customers for five years. Instructions for Submission: Interested organizations should submit a capability statement of approximately 10 pages that details the ability to perform the aspects of the effort described above. All proprietary information should be marked as such. Responses will be reviewed only by NIH personnel and will be held in a confidential manner. All respondents are asked to indicate the type and size of your business organization, e.g., Large Business, Small Business, Small Disadvantaged Business, Women-Owned Business, 8(a), Historically Black College or University/Minority Institution (HBCU/MI), educational institution, profit/non-profit hospital, or other nonprofit organization, in their response. Responses should be identified with NIMH-04-SS-01, and are due by March 15, 2004. E-mail responses are preferred. Please send to
[email protected]. Facsimile responses will also be accepted at 301-443-0501.