AN11--Degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) multi-omics services

This is a combined synopsis/solicitation for commercial items prepared in accordance with the format in FAR Subpart 12.6, as supplemented with additional information included in this notice. This announcement constitutes the only solicitation; quotes are being requested and a written solicitation will not be issued. This is a Request for Quote (RFQ) and the solicitation number is 36C24E26Q0072. The government anticipates awarding a firm-fixed price contract resulting from this combined synopsis/solicitation. This solicitation is issued as a 100% set aside for small business concerns. It is the responsibility of the contractor to be familiar with the applicable clauses and provisions. The clauses may be accessed in full text at www.acquisition.gov. The applicable NAICS code is 541380 Testing Laboratories and Services, with a $19.0M employee size standard. The PSC is AN11 Health R & D Services; Health Care Services; Basic Research. **NOTE: RFQ 36C24E26Q0072 hereby replaces RFQ 36C24E26Q0047** STATEMENT OF NEED (SON) CONTRACT DESCRIPTION AND REQUIREMENTS The Regional Procurement Office (RPO) - East has a requirement to purchase multi-omics services for the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System Research and Development Department in support of VA-funded study. A firm-fixed price contract will be awarded for the purchase of services in accordance with all terms, conditions, provisions, specifications and schedule of this solicitation herein. Quotes shall contain the Offeror s best terms for cost/price and technical capabilities of the requirement. The government reserves the right to award without discussions. 1.1 PRICING The Offeror shall submit price quotes for the required services to the specifications listed in Section 1.2 below. Please enclose the established price list and description of capabilities and product specifications for the requirement using the following format: ITEM INFORMATION ITEM NUMBER DESCRIPTION OF SUPPLIES/SERVICES QUANTITY UNIT UNIT PRICE AMOUNT 0001 40.00 EA _________________ _________________ Transcriptomics (mRNA-seq) Analysis Includes: RNA extraction, Poly-A enrichment, library construction, sequencing (Illumina), and bioinformatics analysis (DEG, GO, KEGG). Sample Type: Whole blood (PAXgene). 0002 40.00 EA _________________ _________________ DIA-Based Quantitative Proteomics Analysis Includes: Protein extraction, Paramagnetic Bead-based preparation, peptide desalination, LC-MS/MS (DIA) data acquisition, and data analysis. Sample Type: Plasma (BD P100 tubes with KEDTA/inhibitors). 0003 40.00 EA _________________ _________________ Untargeted Metabolomics Analysis Includes: Metabolite extraction, LC-MS analysis (Thermo Q Exactive + Waters HSS T3 column), data processing, and statistical analysis. Sample Type: Plasma (Heparin tubes). 0004 40.00 EA _________________ _________________ Multi-Omics Integration Analysis Includes: Integrated pairwise analysis (e.g., Proteome+Metabolome), PLS-DA modeling, and correlation heatmaps. 0005 1.00 EA _________________ _________________ Handling fee (covers sample receiving, inspection, and storage) 0006 1.00 EA _________________ _________________ Setup Fee (one-time; covers initial optimization) 0007 1.00 EA _________________ _________________ Shipping and handling (to include special packaging for shipping samples to vendor and overnight shipping to and from vendor) GRAND TOTAL __________________ Note: The Offeror should include a description of any support services in the technical quote. 1.2 GENERAL INFORMATION Research Support Services - Degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) multi-omics Background: Degenerative cervical myelopathy (DCM) is the most common cause of spinal cord dysfunction and poses a significant health burden in Veterans. However, early detection is a significant challenge, leading to the current study aimed at identifying diagnostic biomarkers that will inform more targeted and individualized treatment strategies. This study will employ three different discovery-based untargeted omics tools to identify blood metabolites, circulating plasma proteins, and global transcriptional profiles of blood cells.  Due to the complexity of DCM, this requirement for services is intended for award to one contractor specialized and capable in the three types of omics and subsequent bioinformatics knowledge required to analyze complex large data sets (including corelative analyses across all three platform types) under a single chain of custody to reduce risk of samples and mitigate batch effect that could impede detection of subtle neuroinflammatory shifts seen in DCM. Scope: The contractor will arrange for shipping containment and overnight shipping of unprocessed samples from VA and once received, the contractor shall process blood samples to extract metabolites, proteins and mRNA, perform quality control, process the resulting molecules for each assay type, perform library construction, run the three omics (including directional sequencing) and then provide analysis this pipeline is designed to minimize technical variations that might otherwise swamp the findings. The contractor shall perform all pre-processing steps normally performed by a molecular biology lab, processing that is sometimes provided as part of a core service, triple omics (three different specialized services normally performed by separate cores or vendors), analytical services normally performed by a different (dry) core service and/or specialized statistical expert with server access and computer code writing expertise. The contractor shall provide finalized, normalized, and analyzed data and access to a cloud-based system allowing us to generate our own figures and tables from the analyzed data per our scientific study needs. The contractor shall also provide integrated correlative analysis and additional figures based on those analyses. Specific Tasks & Deliverables: 1. Pre-process and extract metabolites from human plasma and run omics/provide raw and analyzed data. 2. Pre-process and Extract proteins from human plasma and run Olink proteomics analysis/provide raw and analyzed data. 3. Pre-process, eliminate red blood cells, isolate white blood cells, isolate RNA, and eliminate DNA contamination from human whole blood, perform poly-A enrichment and QC, construct library and process RNA samples, perform sequencing/provide raw and analyzed data and left-over samples for verifying findings in the lab. 4. Provide cross-platform bioinformatics analysis to integrate the three omics data, including pairwise comparisons, correlative analysis, PLS-DA modeling, and Heatmaps. 5. Provide/arrange shipping containment and overnight shipping of samples from and to VA. Contractor Requirements:  Contractor shall be specialized and capable in the three types of omics and subsequent bioinformatics knowledge required to analyze complex large data sets (including corelative analyses across all three platform types) under a single chain of custody. Period of Performance: One (1), 12-month period of performance from date of award Place of Performance:   Contract facility for all work within Statement of Work Contract Type: Firm-fixed price Security Requirements: Vendor will not have access to VA systems or VA sensitive information. Certification and Accreditation (C&A) Authorization do not apply, and a security package is not required. The salient characteristics identified above are intended to be descriptive, not restrictive, and to indicate the quality and characteristics of the services necessary will be satisfactory regarding data integrity necessary for the study. Instructions to the Offeror Basis for award resulting from this RFQ will made via comparative evaluation that provides a complete package pursuant to the preparation requirements set forth in 52.212-1. FAR 52.212-2 (Evaluation - Commercial Items) will be incorporated in full text into the RFQ and will be evaluated on the following factors. Evaluations will be in accordance with FAR 13 Simplified procedures. Evaluation Factors for Award: Factor 1 - Technical Capabilities All offerors must meet or exceed all requirements and salient features as listed in the Statement of Need. Factor 2 - Past Performance Past Performance will be based on the most current CPRS Report. (Lack of past performance with government entity will be rated as neutral .) Factor 3 - Price The following FAR provision and clauses apply to this solicitation and are incorporated by reference. The solicitation document, incorporated provision and clauses are those in effect through the Federal Acquisition Circular (FAC) 2026-01, Effective 3/13/2026. It is the responsibility of the contractor to be familiar with the applicable clauses and provisions. The clauses may be accessed in full text at www.acquistion.gov. This contract incorporates one or more clauses by reference, with the same force and effect as if they were given in full text. Upon request, the Contracting Officer will make their full text available. FAR 52.212-1 Instructions to Offerors Commercial FAR 52.212-2 Evaluation- Commercial Items FAR 52.212-3 Offeror Representations and Certifications FAR 52.212-4 Contract Terms and Conditions FAR 52.212-5 Contract Terms and Conditions Required To Implement Statutes Or Executive Orders Commercial Item FAR 52.219-6 Notice of Total Small Business Set-Aside (Nov 2020) FAR 52.219-8 Utilization of Small Business Concerns (Jan 2025) FAR 52.233-3 Protest After Award (Aug 1996) FAR 52.233-2 Service of Protest Quotes shall be submitted via email to millicent.covert@va.gov and Offerors must reference Solicitation 36C24E26Q0072 in the subject line of the email. Deadline for questions is Monday, July 28, 2026, at 11:59 AM, EST. No telephone request for information will be considered. Incomplete packages will be considered non-responsive. All offers must be received by the closing date Friday, July 31, 2024, no later than 11:59 AM, EST.