Q301--Zymo Epigenome Sequencing Services

Notice of intent to award a sole source contract. This is not a solicitation. The Department of Veterans Affairs intends to negotiate a sole source contract with: ZYMO RESEARCH CORPORATION 17062 Murphy Avenue Irvine, California 92614, United States MNUYHHMKG8N9 This is not a solicitation. The Department of Veterans Affairs, VA Bedford Healthcare System intends to award a sole source, firm-fixed-price contract to Zymo Research Corporation for Reduced Representation Bisulfite Sequencing (RRBS) services for DNA methylation profiling of 269 post-mortem human choroid plexus tissue samples. Description of Supplies/Services: RRBS services on 269 post-mortem human choroid plexus tissue samples, including sample handling and QC assessment, bisulfite conversion, library preparation and QC assessment, sequencing (~30 million read pairs per sample), and raw data alignment, methylation calling, and genome browser track generation. This requirement supports an ongoing VA research study requiring DNA methylation data from choroid plexus tissue that is directly comparable, at the laboratory-batch level, to an existing dorsolateral prefrontal cortex methylation dataset previously generated in its entirety by Zymo Research Corporation for the same study. Introducing a second laboratory to generate the choroid plexus data would create a vendor-of-origin technical confound that is inseparable from the biological comparison the study is designed to detect, and this confound cannot be reliably resolved through statistical correction after the fact. Zymo Research Corporation is the only vendor that can generate this data using the same laboratory, personnel, and protocol as the existing dataset, thereby preserving the scientific validity of the planned cross-tissue comparison. The contractor will provide the required services. Since the intent is to procure this on a sole source basis, no solicitation will be posted to Contracting Opportunities SAM.gov. A Sources Sought Notice (36C241-26-AP-4037) was previously posted for this requirement; responses received did not identify a source able to meet this specific requirement without introducing the technical confound described above. The authority for this action is RFO 6.103-1, Only One Responsible Source and No Other Supplies or Services Will Satisfy the Agency's Requirements. The NAICS code is 541714. The size standard is 1,000 employees. The PSC is Q301. Interested persons may contact the Contract Specialist by email at [email] regarding this procurement. The determination to conduct a competitive procurement based on responses to this notice is solely within the discretion of the Contracting Officer. Response must be received by 8/21/26 NLT 11:00am EST.