AJ11--Research & Development Support Services

SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT: This is a SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT ONLY , it is neither a solicitation announcement nor a request for proposals or quotes and does not obligate the Government to award a contract. Requests for a solicitation will not receive a response. Responses to this sources-sought must be in writing. The purpose of this SOURCES SOUGHT ANNOUNCEMENT is for market research to make appropriate acquisition decisions and to gain knowledge of potential sources capable of providing the services described below. Documentation on technical expertise must be presented in sufficient detail for the Government to determine that your company possesses the necessary functional area expertise and experience to compete for this acquisition. Responses to this notice shall include the following: Company name: (b) Address: (c) Point of Contact: (d) Phone, Fax (if applicable), and Email: (e) SAM Unique Entity ID: (f) Cage Code: (g) Tax ID Number: (h) Type of business, SDVOSB; VOSB, WOSB, small, large, etc., as appropriate: Must provide a Capability Statement that addresses the organization s qualifications and ability to perform as a contractor for the statement of work described below. Failure to provide sufficient information may result in the Government s inability to determine whether the respondent is capable. GENERAL STATEMENTS OF CAPABILITY ARE NOT ACCEPTABLE. Federal Supply Schedule Contracting # if applicable General Pricing The Department of Veterans Affairs, issued by the Contracting Office at the Perry Point VA Medical Center. All interested parties should submit information by email only to jameel.gordon@va.gov. All emails must have as the subject line Sources Sought Notice No. 36C24526Q0550 Research & Development Support Services. All information submissions must be received no later than 11:00 AM (EST) on June 2, 2026. STATEMENT OF WORK 3. Background. This contract directly relates to a VA Merit Research Award funded by the VA Office of Research & Development at the Baltimore VA Medical Center to develop treatments for Achilles tendon injuries. The Principal Investigator (PI) utilizes a mouse model to determine the effectiveness of Achilles tendon therapies to restore musculoskeletal function and tendon material properties and biology, and to reduce tendon injury-related pain behaviors. The team will breed and maintain the mice as well as perform pre-clinical mouse studies due to the need for specialized equipment and expertise on site for live mouse pain behavior tests and highly specialized Achilles tendon tissue characterizations. The research also requires veterinary support for mouse husbandry and breeding, rodent-specific anesthesia equipment, specialty transport of mice between facilities for pain behavior tests, and highly specialized tissue processing and characterizations 4. Scope. The vendor will maintain mouse colonies and perform experimental tendon surgeries in selected animals to model recovery and pain treatment. 5. Specific Tasks. The vendor will be tasked with maintaining animal colonies, unilateral tendon transection surgeries, collagenase injections, recombinant protein/vehicle treatments, post-operative mouse care, pain behavior testing, and Achilles tendon processing and characterization testing. Pain behavior testing will include von Frey testing, grip strength testing, and gait testing. Achilles tendon tissue characterizations will include collagen crosslink analysis using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and tensile testing using a custom mechanical tester. These activities will also require preparing experimental protocols, maintaining logs of experimental activities, and communicating experimental results in oral and written form. 5.1 Task 1 - Data Management 5.1.1 Subtask 1 - Assisting with Development of Experimental Protocols. The vendor will develop experimental protocols in digital form (e.g., Microsoft Word), with specific indication of experimental details, such as description of samples, reagents, procedures, interventions, substance volumes and concentrations, timing, power analysis, cohort sizes, and other pertinent details. 5.1.2 Subtask 2 - Keeping laboratory records. The vendor will keep thorough records of the experiments, including details of the work performed and detailed experimental observations. These will be reviewed once per week, to clarify all ambiguous or missing details and to correct the notebook/logs. All data analysis will be carried out in laboratory notebooks and laboratory computers and backed up using the existing servers and infrastructure. Deliverables: Files containing experimental protocols, laboratory records, and experimental results, including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint files, Prism (statistics), images (histology), and physical laboratory records (e.g., laboratory notebooks). As requested, raw data from all directly relevant studies and colony records will be provided. 5.2 Task 1. Regulatory Management 5.2.1. Subtask 1- Maintenance of mouse colonies. The vendor will breed and care for animals. The vendor will perform daily checks using a detailed clinical scoring system that assesses body condition, weight loss, and impaired mobility of the animal (due to loss of neurologic function). The vendor will set up and provide the correct housing, feeding, and care that is required per approved protocol. The vendor will maintain the animals on a daily basis for the feeding, care, and cleaning of cages in compliance with current biomedical research standards, as well as VA policy on the use of animals found in Handbook 1200.7, "Use of Animals in Research", which incorporates compliance with USDA Animal Welfare Act Regulations and PHS Policy. Deliverables: Laboratory records and experimental results, including Excel, Word, and PowerPoint files, Prism (statistics), images (histology), and physical laboratory records (e.g., laboratory notebooks). As requested, raw data from all directly relevant studies and colony records will be provided. 5.3 Task 1. Mouse Surgery and Pain Testing 5.3.1. Subtask 1- Unilateral tendon transection surgeries and recombinant protein/vehicle treatments, post-operative mouse care. The vendor will perform Achilles tendon surgeries on mice and provide post-operative care. Required instrumentation includes anesthesia machine, confocal microscope, microplate reader, gel system and freeze dryer. Deliverables: 250 mouse surgeries and post-operative care per year.� 5.3.2. Subtask 1- Pain behavior testing, and Achilles tendon processing and characterization testing care. The vendor will conduct pain behavior testing to include Von Frey testing, grip strength testing, and gait testing. Achilles tendon tissue characterizations will include collagen crosslink analysis using high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and tensile testing using a custom mechanical tester. Deliverables: Pain behavior testing on 92 mice per year and tendon tissue characterizations on 250 mice per year. 6. Performance Monitoring The Principal Investigator will monitor and assess performance on a daily basis. 7. Security Requirements All work will take place in the Laboratory or the associated animal facility and procedure rooms. No access to personal protected or proprietary information is necessary. The vendor will be current on all of the required VA safety and security trainings at all times. 8. Government-Furnished Equipment (GFE)/Government-Furnished Information (GFI). None 9. Other Pertinent Information or Special Considerations. Identification of Possible Follow-on Work. Based on the results of the work under this contract, it is possible that the scope of work may be modified or expanded. This is because scientific research, by definition, investigates the unknown; therefore, unexpected findings are possible that may require changes in this contract. Should such a need arise, the COR will submit a modification request. b. Identification of Potential Conflicts of Interest (COI). No COI exists. c. Identification of Non-Disclosure Requirements. There are no non-disclosure requirements. d. Packaging, Packing and Shipping Instructions. None. e. Inspection and Acceptance Criteria. The COR will inspect the vendor's work weekly and accept only work matching the rigorous criteria for quality objective experimental research. 10. Risk Control There are no risks associated with this contract that go beyond standard research safety practices. There is no contact with patients or access to personally identifiable or sensitive personal information. Vendor will be notified of all aspects of safe conduct of research and re-trained annually or as required by the VA Talent Management System. All training certificates will be kept on file, and the vendor's required trainings will be continuously monitored by the PI. 11. Place of Performance. Contractor Location 12. Period of Performance. One base year with four 12-month option periods