Notice of Intent: Storage and distribution services for 438.75 cu ft of paper research and pathology reports; and 1,670.12 cu ft of pathology paraffin embedded tissue blocks and tissue fixed slides used in the Laboratory of Pathology, CCR, NCI.

THIS IS A NOTICE OF INTENT AND NOT A REQUEST FOR QUOTATIONS. This notice is published in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) 5.101(a)(1) requiring the dissemination of information regarding proposed contract actions. This is a Notice of Intent to award a sole source, firm-fixed price purchase order under the authority of 41 U.S.C. 3304(a)(1), as implemented by FAR 12.102 and 6.302-1 - Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Service Will Satisfy Agency Requirements and is not a request for competitive proposals.
POP: 08/01/2026 to 07/31/2027
Option 1: Aug. 2027 – July. 2028
Option 2: Aug. 2028 – July. 2029
Option 3: Aug. 2029 – July. 2030
Option 4: Aug. 2030 – July. 2031
The National Institute of Health (NIH) Laboratory of Pathology intend to negotiate on a sole source basis with EPL Archives LLC on an other than full and open competition basis. The Laboratory of Pathology provides diagnostic services for the Clinical Center at the National Institutes of Health. The department provides pathological diagnosis of specimens submitted incidental to standard care and clinical investigation of National Institutes of Health patients and submitted by outside health organizations. As a result of our clinical and research missions, pathology blocks, slides, images, and hardcopy patient reports must be stored and available indefinitely. LP must continue to store a certain portion of these patient materials offsite due to space limitations in building 10. LP currently archives 438.75 cubic feet (351 boxes) of research documents and clinical patient records; 1,670.12 cubic feet of paraffin embedded pathology tissue blocks, and stained slides dating back to the 1980’s that are still requested for recruits and reviewed by clinical and research staff. EPL Archives facilities are environmentally controlled and protected against hazards, and the company provides GLP-compliant archive services and is the only storage facility we’ve utilized for archiving and all our materials are presently located there. LP has now been relocated as of July 2015; the onsite high-density storage facility has been renovated but is inadequate space for what has been stored offsite to remedy the storage problem. It would be beneficial to keep the materials where they’re stored now unless there’s a newer facility closer to the NIH Campus to make it cost effective to move all the materials. As archived material is needed, EPL provides a one-day turnaround to provide us with our necessary
reports or slides, which ensures adequate turnaround times for LP’s services provided to our NIH researchers and clinicians. In addition, LP’s material has been stored at EPL for over a decade, and it would be unfeasible to move to another facility due to the potential cost it would take to package, inventory, and transport to another facility, but we understand to find out, it must be advertised.
Justification:
1. All Contractor employees who handle Material(s) shall be trained in cGMP regulations and in the specific standard operating procedures for their activities. All Contractor employees who maintain government’s Material(s) shall be trained and acknowledge compliance with the HIPAA and Privacy Act. Contractor shall provide evidence that personnel are qualified to handle the government’s Material(s) and have been trained and acknowledge compliance with adherence to the laws that govern patient privacy.
Contractor will maintain written records (inventory and transaction records) on each Deposit Materials consisting of correspondence between Contractor and the Depositor, information provided by Depositor on the type of material included in the Deposit Material and designation of Depositor’s ownership of the Deposit Materials. Depositor may review these records with respect to the Deposit materials, with the exception of locator codes, and copies may be obtained, or originals inspected at the location where Contractor stores such records or Contractor’s principal place of business.
2. Only one award will be made as a result of this notice. This will be awarded as a firm-fixed price purchase order.
The period of performance for this requirement will be a Base year for 12 months. The North American Industry Classification (NAICS) code for this acquisition is NIACS 561990, All Other Support Services with a small business size standard of $12 million.
This will be the only notice of the Government's intent to solicit, negotiate, and award to one source to satisfy this requirement. The Government plans to award a contract for this requirement within 7 days of this notice.
The statutory authority for this sole source requirement is 41 U.S.C. 253(c)(1) as implemented by FAR 6.302-1 (b)(1)(i) only one source available, no substitutions possible. THIS IS NOT A SOLICITATION FOR COMPETITIVE QUOTATIONS. All responsible sources who can provide the Storage requirements should submit a capability statement via email to Linda Smith at Linda.Smith2@nih.gov by 8:00 am EST on August 3, 2026. A determination not to compete this requirement, based upon responses to this notice, is solely within the discretion of the Government. Any responses received by NIAID after this date and exact time specified are late and will not be considered.
This notice does not obligate the Government to award a contract or otherwise pay for any information provided in response. The Government reserves the right to use information provided by respondents for any purpose deemed necessary and legally appropriate. Any organization responding to this notice should ensure that it’s sufficiently detailed to allow the Government to determine the organization's qualifications to perform the work. Respondents are advised that the Government is under no obligation to acknowledge receipt of the information received or provide feedback to respondents with respect to any information submitted.
For additional information or to submit responses, please contact Linda Smith, Contracting Officer at Linda.smith2@nih.gov. Or Jessica Emerson at Jessica.emerson@nih.gov