Service Agreements for Orbitrap Fusion Lumos Mass Spectrometer + QExactive HF Systems

The purpose of this requirement is to procure preventive maintenance services on existing Government-owned laboratory equipment manufactured by Thermo Electron: 1) An Orbitrap Fusion Lumos mass spectrometer + Ultimate 3000 RSLCnano Ultra High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography System, and 2) A QExactive HF Mass Spectrometer + Ultimate 3000 RSLCnano Ultra High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography System. The contractor shall be an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) Authorized Service Provider of this equipment, and all services shall be performed by OEM certified factory-trained technicians using genuine OEM parts. The requiring agency is the Translational Neuroscience Center/Clinical Proteomics Unit, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health (TNC/CPU/NINDS/NIH). THIS ORDER WAS AWARDED WITHOUT PROVIDING FOR FULL OR OPEN COMPETITION (INCLUDING BRAND-NAME). As stated in a letter from the manufacturer, which is included in the file, Thermo Electron is the only authorized service provider for both the Obitrap Fusion Lumos mass spectrometer + Ultimate 3000 RSLCnano Ultra High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography and QExactive HF Mass Spectrometer + Ultimate 3000 RSLCnano Ultra High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography systems. Service agreements for these systems were previously awarded to Thermo Electron on a sole source basis. A service agreement for Orbitrap Fusion Lumos + UHPLC equipment was procured in 2015 through purchase order (PO) HHSN271201500118U, which included three option years. A service agreement for the QExactive HF + UHPLC equipment was purchased in 2016 through PO HHSN271201700067P, which included three option years. Thermo Electron has proprietary rights to the design and software utilized in these instruments and is the only company with access to proprietary performance verified component parts, spare parts, software, technical support, upgrades and engineering resources to maintain the original operating specifications. Additionally, Thermo Fisher Scientific Field Service Engineers are the only company-certified and factory-trained engineers available to service these instruments. Due to how much the program office has invested into these systems, using an unauthorized service provider would pose too much risk to the Government. Also, procuring new equipment through a competitive solicitation is not financially feasible at this point in time and would not represent the best value to the Government. As a result, the Government intends to award this requirement to Thermo Electron without providing for competition.