Mouse Digital Ventilated Cage (DVC) Individually Ventilated Rack System – Pilot Expansion and Software Licenseview on SAM.gov

NOI-PCA-ORS-26-09461 NAICS – NAICS – 513210 / $47M – SOFTWARE PUBLISHERS THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT AND NOT A REQUEST FOR QUOTATIONS. The Division of Veterinary Resources (DVR), within the Office of Research Services (ORS), National Institutes of Health (NIH), intends to negotiate on an other than full and open competition basis with Tecniplast Group, USA, P.O. Box 1209, West Chester, PA 19380. This requirement requires the procurement, delivery, installation, commissioning, and training associated with an expansion of its existing Tecniplast Digital Ventilated Cage (DVC) individually ventilated caging (IVC) rack system for mice at NIH facilities located in Bethesda, Maryland. DVR currently operates a Tecniplast DVC demonstration/pilot rack system, and this acquisition will procure additional Tecniplast DVC-compatible racks, cages, air handling units, software licensing, and related components necessary to expand housing capacity while maintaining full technical and data compatibility with the existing installed system. Continuous access to a single, compatible ventilated caging and automated monitoring platform is critical to maintaining animal welfare, biocontainment integrity, data continuity, and compliance with federal regulations governing laboratory animal care. DVR previously installed a Tecniplast DVC demonstration rack system at its Bethesda, Maryland facility to evaluate individually ventilated caging performance and automated, non-invasive home-cage monitoring capability, including artificial intelligence (AI)/machine learning (ML)-enabled analysis of animal activity and welfare indicators. DVR now requires an expansion of that system to increase mouse housing capacity while preserving compatibility with the already-installed racks, cages, air handling units, control infrastructure, and DVC software platform. This acquisition supports the initial expansion phase of DVR's broader Mouse Housing Infrastructure Modernization program. Separately, DVR's Market Research Report and Acquisition Plan for the enterprise-wide replacement of DVR's approximately 15,000-cage mouse housing census recommend full and open competition using vendor-neutral, performance-based specifications, because multiple manufacturers can meet DVR's general IVC rack requirements. This action is distinct from, and does not substitute for, that future full and open competitive acquisition. This action is limited to the expansion of the existing Tecniplast DVC pilot installation, for which Tecniplast is the only source capable of providing hardware and software that is technically and operationally compatible with the equipment DVR has already installed and is currently using to collect longitudinal animal welfare monitoring data. All products provided under this contract must support compliance with the Animal Welfare Act (AWA), Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, AAALAC Interna…