Real-Time PCR System

Trade Agreement: NAFTA/AIT/Canada FTAs with Peru/Colombia/Panama Tendering Procedures: Generally only one firm has been invited to bid Attachment: None Non-Competitive Procurement Strategy: Interchangeable Parts Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement: No Vendor Name and Address: Life Technologies Inc. 5250 Main Way Burlington Ontario Canada L7L5Z1 Nature of Requirements: Marlene Hall Supply Specialist Telephone: 204 984-6423 E-mail: marlene.hall@pwgsc-tpsgc.gc.ca

File No.: 39903-140530/A

TITLE: Real Time PCR System Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC), on behalf of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), intends to negotiate with Life Technologies Inc. for the provision of a Real Time PCR System.

DEFINITION OF REQUIREMENT The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has a requirement for the supply and delivery of one (1) 7500 FAST Real Time PCR System.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency's quantitative PCR (qPCR) assays used in diagnostics and research were developed and validated to run on Applied Biosystems (ABI) platforms. CFIA requires an instrument that is compatible with existing ABI instruments. Compatible means that migration from the current platform to a new platform will be seamless. No other instrument would be acceptable as it would not fall within our current workflow or be able to be used interchangeably with the current instruments.

Any interested supplier must demonstrate by way of a statement of capabilities that its product meets the following mandatory requirements:

MANDATORY PERFORMANCE SPECIFICATIONS

1. The total system, including computer, must be capable of fitting within the following footprint: 80 cm x 40 cm

2. Power Requirements: 120V, 50/60 Hz, Nominal Current Draw of 8 A, Power of 950 W. Capable of plugging into a 15 A wall receptacle with proper grounding.

3. The instrument must have a Peltier-based, 96-well block thermal cycling system. The block must have a temperature range of 4°C to 100°C with a temperature accuracy of ± 0.25°C of the setpoint/display temperature and a temperature uniformity of ± 0.50°C. The block to have a peak heating rate of 5.5°C/second and a ramp rate of 3.5°C/second.

4. The instrument must have an optical system comprised of a CCD camera with halogen lamp excitation equipped with five-excitation and five-emission filters. Spectral cross-talk must be minimized for multiplexing applications.

5. The instrument must be calibrated to handle the following dyes at installation: FAM /SYBR Green, VIC /JOE, NED /TAMRA /Cy3, ROX / Texas Red, and Cy5. The instrument must also be capable of being calibrated for additional dyes. The instrument must possess the option of using a passive reference dye such as ROX or any calibrate dye.

6. Sample format must consist of 96-well plates capable of handling reaction volumes of 5 µL to 30 µL and optimized for 10 µL.

7. The instrument must have a linear dynamic range of 9 logs and be capable of detecting 1 copy of template molecule in a 20 µL reaction for a single reporter hydrolysis probe based assay with 99.7% confidence. It should be capable of differentiating between 5000 and 1000 copies of a template molecule with 99.7% confidence.

8. The instrument must have the capability of completing runs in as little as 30 minutes and possess a throughput of 4 to 5 96-well plates per day.

9. The system must come with a laptop computer that must run on a Windows 7 operating system and have the following software applications: comparative Ct, standard curve, relative standard curve, allelic discrimination, plus/minus, and high resolution melting point analysis capable of identifying the Tm of up to three melt curve products per well. Dye discrimination must provide the capability of multiplexing up to 5 targets per well.

JUSTIFICATION FOR PRE-IDENTIFIED SUPPLIER Life Technologies Inc. is the only known supplier that can provide a Real Time PCR System that meets all of the mandatory performance specifications.

TRADE AGREEMENTS The following limited tendering reasons pertain to this requirement:

Government Contract Regulations, Part 1, Section 6(d) only one person is capable of performing the contract.

Government on Internal Trade (AIT), Article 506-12(a) to ensure compatibility with existing products, to recognize exclusive rights, such as exclusive licences, copyright and patent rights, or to maintain specialized products that must be maintained by the manufacturer or its representative;

North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), 1016.2(d) for additional deliveries by the original supplier that are intended either as replacement parts or continuing services for existing suppliers, services or installations, or as the extension of existing suppliers, services or installations, where a change of supplier would compel the entity to procure equipment or services not meeting requirements of interchangeability with already existing equipment or services, including software to the extent that the initial procurement of the software was covered by this Chapter;

DELIVERY DATE The equipment must be delivered on or before March 31, 2014, FOB destination.

PRE-IDENTIFIED SUPPLIER Life Technologies Inc. 5250 Mainway Burlington, Ontario L7K 5Z1 Delivery Date: Above-mentioned

You are hereby notified that the government intends to negotiate with one firm only as identified above. Should you have any questions concerning this requirement, contact the contracting officer identified above.

An Advance Contract Award Notice (ACAN) allows departments and agencies to post a notice, for no less than fifteen (15) calendar days, indicating to the supplier community that it intends to award a good, service or construction contract to a pre-identified contractor. If no other supplier submits, on or before the closing date, a Statement of Capabilities that meets the requirements set out in the ACAN, the contracting authority may then proceed with the award. However, should a Statement of Capabilities be found to meet the requirements set out in the ACAN, then the contracting authority will proceed to a full tendering process.

Suppliers who consider themselves fully qualified and available to provide the services/goods described herein, may submit a statement of capabilities in writing to the contact person identified in this Notice on or before the closing date of this Notice. The statement of capabilities must clearly demonstrate how the supplier meets the advertised requirements.

The PWGSC file number, the contracting officer's name and the closing date of the ACAN must appear on the outside of the envelope in block letters or, in the case of a facsimile transmission, on the covering page.

The Crown retains the right to negotiate with suppliers on any procurement.

Documents may be submitted in either official language of Canada.