National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), Office of Acquisitions - Neurosciences, Station Support/Simplified Acquisitions, on behalf of the National Institute on Mental Health (NIMH) intends to negotiate and award a purchase order on a noncompetitive basis to the Duke University Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina for the analysis of clinical samples for two studies and metabolomic platforms testing for neurosteroid effects. It is to discover markers or mediators of the differential behavioural response to reproductive steroids in the populations currently being studied at the NIMH. There are current NIMH protocols for the studies for mood disorders. With new technology involving multiple mass-spectrometry based technologies and data integration informed by knowledge of metabolic pathways, the NIMH is able to identify both biomarkers for disease vulnerability and targets for therapy development. Metabolomics is the study of small, non-proteinaceous molecules that are the products of cellular metabolism. Evidence suggests that the disorders being studied are characterized by aberrant metabolism of steroid and neurosteroid hormones. The Duke University Medical Center has created a proprietary metabolomic search assay to discover the markers or mediators of the differential response to reproductive steroids.
This acquisition is being conducted under Simplified Acquisition Procedures using FAR 13 procedures, and is exempt from competition requirements in FAR Part 6. 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. Comments to this announcement, referencing the solicitation number, may be submitted prior to the closing date of this announcement to the NIDA SS/SA Branch electronically to the attention of Susan Nsangou, Contracting Officer at [email protected].