The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Office of Acquisition (OA) on behalf of the National Human Genome Research Institute, (NHGRI), intends to negotiate and award a purchase order on a noncompetitive sole source basis to Illumina Inc., 9885 Towne Centre Drive, San Diego, California 92121-1975 to procure the following:

1. HiSeq 2000 System, Catalog Number: SY-401-1001, Quantity: One (1).
2. Trade-In for GAiiX Sequencer, Serial Number: 300748, Quantity: One (1).
3. Shipping and Insurance Charge.

The sole source determination is based on the fact that National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the nation's leading medical research agency and the primary Federal agency conducting and supporting medical discoveries that improve people's health and save lives. The National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI), the NIH Intramural Sequencing Center (NISC) is a centralized research facility for performing high-throughput, large-scale DNA sequencing and sequence analysis. NISC has served the NIH community for over 15 years as a source for high-quality large-scale sequencing and analysis. As next generation sequencing applications expand, so does the demand for services. NISC currently has three HiSeq2000 sequencers in full operation and an additional sequencer is needed to meet the sequencing demand. Over the past 2.5 years NISC has invested significant resources to develop a state of the art data analysis pipeline based on the Illumina family of sequencers.

The instrument's parallel sequencing technology leverages clonal cluster formation and proprietary reversible terminator chemistry to give it the speed and reduce the cost of large-scale sequencing to generate billions of bases of high-quality DNA sequence per run. This sequencing technology also provides an easy-to-use protocol that does not require emulsion PCR which allows for a self-contained system that minimizes handling errors and contamination concerns, eliminating the need for robotics or clean rooms. The HiSeq2000 System provides ultra-high output and speed. In a single run one is able to sequence more than 5 human genomes at ~30x coverage. It is able to process a diverse set of samples within one flow cell, and with the highest data quality currently available. Another key factor in this selection is that this instrument is upgradable to a new version of sequencer that will allow NISC to decrease the turnaround time by many weeks. This is a critical consideration for projects impacting patient diagnosis. Illumina is the sole manufacturer of the HiSeq2000 System. The parts are unique to these instruments and cannot be substituted by other vendor parts.

This acquisition is conducted under the authority of 41 U.S.C. 253(c) as set forth in FAR Part 6.302-1(b), only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. Industry Classification (NAICS) Code is 334516, Analytical Laboratory Instrument Manufacturing and the Small Business Size Standard is 500 Employees. The resultant purchase order will include all applicable provisions and clauses in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 05-62 (December 20, 2012).

This notice of intent is not a request for competitive proposals. The determination by the Government not to compete the proposed contract based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government. Information received will normally be considered solely for the purpose of determining whether to conduct future competitive procurement. In order to receive an award from NIH/NHLBI, contractors must be registered and have a valid CCR and ORCA on-line at https://www.sam.gov/portal/public/SAM/.

If you have any questions, please submit to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, Office of Acquisition, COAC Services Branch, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Suite 6149, Bethesda, Maryland 20892-7902, Attention: Dorothy Maxwell. Response may be submitted electronically to [email protected]. Faxes will not be accepted.