The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Lymphoid Malignancies Branch (LMB), Center for Cancer Research (CCR), National Cancer Institute (NCI), National Institutes of Health (NIH) plans to procure, on a sole source basis, preventive maintenance services for one (1) Sony MA900 Cell Sorter from:

Sony Biotechnology

1730 N 1st St.

San Jose, CA 95112-4642

The response close date of the notice for this requirement is in accordance with FAR 5.203(b). This acquisition will be processed under FAR Part 12 – Acquisition for Commercial Items and will be made pursuant to the authority in FAR Part 13.106-1 (b)(1) and is exempt from the requirements of FAR Part 6. The North American Industry Classification System code is J066 and the business size standard is 811210.

Sony Biotechnology, Inc. is the manufacturer and distributor of the MA900 cell sorter system. This cell sorter system requires regular maintenance for proper continuous function. The manufacturer does not license third party technicians, and spare or replacement parts for this instrument can only be obtained from the original manufacturer. Thus, no other company or 3rd party provider has trained personnel to work with this complex system or access to any potential required parts that might need replacing over time.

In addition, the MA900 cell sorter has a specialized operating system that only service engineers at Sony Biotechnology, Inc. are authorized to handle. Sony Biotechnology, Inc. owns the proprietary software needed to provide the required support for the cell sorter system. No other vendor has trained personnel to handle the software that works in conjunction with the Sony MA900 cell sorter. In the event a non-authorized contractor tries to repair and damages the cell sorter, the manufacturer will not take responsibility to repair it.

Because of the high degree of sensitivity and specificity of the components integrated into the system, as well as the software interfaced with this system, only factory-trained service engineers from Sony Biotechnology, Inc. can perform maintenance and repair on this instrument, as well as obtaining the necessary parts for replacement as needed. Sony Biotechnology is the only vendor that has Field Service Engineers specifically trained to perform preventative maintenance, instrument repairs and software upgrades on the Sony MA900 cell sorter, using the required proprietary replacement parts and computer software.

Only the manufacturer is capable of providing the maintenance and parts required because Sony does not license third party technicians. No other vendors currently provide this service for the Sony MA900 cell sorter. This makes Sony Biotechnology the only known source for this requirement. Therefore, Sony Biotechnology, Inc. is the only provider that can meet the Government’s needs at this time.

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