99 -- OPERATIONA AND MAINTENANCE OF A CHIMPANZEE SANCTUARY SYSTEM

Notice Date

September 13, 2001

Contracting Office

Department of Health and Human Services, National Institutes of Health, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Contracts Operations Branch 6701 Rockledge Dr RKL2/6100 MSC 7902, Bethesda, MD, 20892-7902

ZIP Code

20892-7902

Solicitation Number

NHLBI-RR-P-01-759

Response Due

November 30, 2001

Point of Contact

Kathleen Jarboe, Contract Specialist, Phone (301) 435-0364, Fax (301) 480-3345, Email kv9j@nih.gov -- Debra Hawkins, Chief, Procurement Section, Phone (301) 435-0366, Fax (301) 480-3345, Email dh41g@nih.gov

Description

The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) and National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) seek a private nonprofit organization interested in providing lifetime care for chimpanzees as described by the "Chimpanzee Health Improvement, Maintenance, and Protection (CHIMP) Act," Public Law 106-551, which amended Section 481C of the Public Health Service Act on December 20, 2000. A complete copy of the Act is available at http://thomas.loc.gov or from the Contracting Contracting Officer identified in this synopsis. To implement the CHIMP Act, the National Institutes of Health (NIH), acting on behalf of the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), will: 1) award a contract to a private nonprofit organization that meets the detailed requirements set forth in the Act, as implemented according to the Statement of Work (attached to the solicitation) and according to possible changes in implementation formally proposed by the offeror and approved by the NIH; 2) award one or more C06 Construction Grants to the same private nonprofit organization that receives the contract, and possibly additional C06 awards to Subcontractors; and 3) identify the number of chimpanzees no longer needed for research that are available for placement in the sanctuary. An initial attempt to identify these chimpanzees has been made via questionnaires sent by NCRR, NIH, to the major facilities housing chimpanzees in the US. At least 212 chimpanzees (of which 95 are potential risks to the public health due to experimental infectious agents, and 117 are uninfected), currently housed in US biomedical research facilities, are available for possible transfer to another research facility or the sanctuary system. Further dentification of which chimpanzees will be offered for entry to the sanctuary system will be accomplished by NCRR in conjunction with the International Species Information System (ISIS) grant funded by NCRR of NIH. Private nonprofit organizations interested in providing lifetime care for chimpanzees should propose an overall sanctuary system that will house an ADDITIONAL minimum of approximately 200 sanctuary chimpanzees, and the total plan must be theoretically capable of caring for as many as 900 chimpanzees. NIH expects to see proposed plans to care for up to 900 chimpanzees, and to maintain the facilities housing dditional chimpanzees, in groups of 75-100 animals, at the original site housing the first 200 animals, and/or at potential additional sites to be run by the Contractor, and/or at potential sites to be run by subcontractors. NIH believes that the standards of care, degree of Governmental review of proposed support, and Governmental oversight of ongoing programs at potential subcontractors will be as stringent as those for the primary Contractor. At each separate physical facility proposed by a potential Contractor or subcontractor, offerors must demonstrate the capacity to house and care for at least 75 additional sanctuary chimpanzees. It is essential that each offeror must clearly and completely describe their facility's planned capacity to manage and operate a system holding at least 75 chimpanzees per site, with the future possibility of expansion at the original or additional sites. At this time, the primary focus of establishing the sanctuary system will be to house animals that are no longer needed in DHHS-supported research efforts, not to provide funding from NIH for already existing sanctuaries that are already caring for chimpanzees. NIH requires each offeror to submit both one or more C06 Construction Grant applications, and a contract proposal for care and maintenance (extensive detail is included in the solicitation). The Contractor must operate the sanctuary site(s) in compliance with: a) The Animal Welfare Act (P.L. 89-544, as amended) Rules and Regulations published in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 9 (Animals and Animal Products), Chapter 1, Subchapter A (Animal Welfare), Parts 1, 2, and 3; b) Public Health Service (PHS) Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, updated 1996; c) The Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, revised 1996; d) Biosafety in Microbiological and Biomedical Laboratories (4th Edition, CDC-NIH 1999); e) Occupational Health and Safety in the Care and Use of Research Animals (NRC 1997); f) U.S. Government Principles for the Utilization and Care of Vertebrate Animals Used in Testing, Research and Training (OPRR) 1996; g) Chimpanzees in Research, Strategies for their Ethical Care, Management, and Use (NRC 1997); h) 2000 Report of the AVMA Panel on Euthanasia, JAVMA 218(2), 669-696. 2001; i) The Psychological Well-Being of Nonhuman Primates, (ILAR) 1998; and j) 29 CFR 1910.1030, Bloodborne Pathogen Standard. The Government intends to negotiate a ten (10) year contract for the operation and maintenance of the chimpanzee sanctuary system. The Government anticipates that there will be a single contract award for this requirement. This is not a Request for Proposals (RFP). RFP Number NHLBI-RR-P-01-759 will be available on or about September 28, 2001 and may be accessed at the following URL address: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/funding/index.htm. No paper copies will be available. (Kathleen Jarboe EMAIL: jarboek@nhlbi.nih.gov).

Web Link

Visit this URL for the latest information about this (http://www.eps.gov/spg/HHS/NIH/NHLBI/NHLBI-RR-P-01-759/listing.html)

Record

Loren Data Corp. 20010917/99SOL004.HTM (D-256 SN50X4S7)