Notice of Intent to Sole Source – Agilent Technologies

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Center (CC), Department of Transfusion Medicine (DTM), Infectious Diseases Section requires acquisition of the Agilent SureScan Microarray Scanner, including all necessary hardware, proprietary software, and installation components required for operation to support ongoing clinical research and development of diagnostic assays for hepatitis viruses and other transfusion-transmissible pathogens.

•             Product Service Code: 6515 – Medical Instruments, Equipment, and Supplies

•             NAICS Code: 339112 – Surgical and Medical Instrument Manufacturing

•             Place of Performance: Bethesda, MD 20892 USA

POTS: 26-005071

Description:

This is a notice of intent, not a request for a quotation.  A solicitation document will not be issued and quotations will not be requested.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) intends to award a fixed price purchase order to Agilent Technologies, located at 121 Hartwell Ave, Lexington, MA 02421, on a firm fixed price sole source award basis to provide Accreditation on-site evaluation services to the National Institutes of Health.

The Agilent SureScan Microarray Scanner is uniquely qualified to meet the NIH Clinical Center, Department of Transfusion Medicine (DTM), Infectious Diseases Section’s technical and compatibility requirements for the following reasons:

• Proprietary Compatibility: The scanner is specifically designed to integrate with Agilent microarray platforms and associated feature extraction software currently in use within the laboratory. No other manufacturer provides full compatibility with existing Agilent microarray slides and validated workflows. A customize Microarray platform for multiviral detection has been patented and the Agilent scanner is the only solution available for reading the post hybridization fluorescence.

• Data Continuity and Integrity: Ongoing research projects rely on previously generated datasets using Agilent systems. Introducing a different scanner would create variability in data acquisition, compromising longitudinal studies and reproducibility.

• Unique Technical Capabilities: Dual-laser scanning with optimized wavelengths for Cy3 and Cy5 dyes; High sensitivity required for low-abundance nucleic acid detection; Built-in ozone protection to preserve fluorescence signal integrity; These features are critical and not equivalently available in alternative systems without significant compromise.

• Workflow Integration: Existing laboratory protocols, staff training, and bioinformatics pipelines are specifically configured for Agilent platforms. Transitioning to another system would require substantial retraining, method revalidation, and workflow disruption.

This acquisition is being conducted using policies unique to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) Part 13 – Simplified Acquisition Procedures, Subpart 13.106-1(b)(1), For purchases not exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold (SAT), contracting officers may solicit from one source if the contracting officer determines that the circumstance of the contract action deem only one source reasonably available.  Contracts awarded using FAR Part 13-Simplified Acquisition Procedures are exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6-Competition Requirements.

Interested parties may identify their interest and capabilities in response to this posting. The determination by the Government not to compete the proposed requirement based upon responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Government.

Comments to this announcement, referencing this posting number, may be submitted to the NIH, Clinical Center, Office of Purchasing and Contracts, prior to the closing date specified in this announcement, to the attention of Kristin Nagashima, Contract Specialist via email to Kristin.nagashima@nih.gov by May 5, 2026 at 11am EST.