APHL is looking to identify three laboratories, including all member public health laboratories and hospital and academic laboratories that have unrestricted access to one of the three FDA-cleared automated RPR systems and meet the specific expectations regarding methodologies to be used by the awardees are outlined in Appendix A: Expectations for Automated RPR Evaluation. All applicants are required to agree to the minimum requirements as outlined in Appendix B and detailed below:
- Established experience and competency with syphilis testing.
- Established and demonstrated competency and capacity using one of the following automated RPR systems : ASI Evolution, AIX1000 or BioPlex 2200 Syphilis Total and RPR Assay
- Sufficient and unrestricted access to the equipment and laboratory supplies, laboratory space and workforce capacity for the proposed number of specimens to be tested.
Anticipated RFP Schedule
August 28, 2019 – RFP Issued
September 9, 2019 – Informational Teleconference (Q&A)
September 13, 2019 –
Letter of Intent Due to APHL (see below)
October 9, 2019 – RFP Responses Due
October 24, 2019 – Proposal review completed
October 25 & 28, 2019 – If needed, follow-up interviews and updated proposals due
October 31, 2019 – Final review completed and awardees selected
November 1, 2019 – Draft contracts submitted to APHL Legal Dept. for final internal review
APHL will communicate any modification to this anticipated schedule on APHL's procurement website (www.aphl.org/rfp) and via an email blast to the public health laboratories (PHLs).
Response Submittal
Confirmation of Intent to Respond
APHL requests that prospective applicants submit a brief email statement indicating an intent to submit a proposal. APHL must receive this email by no later than
5:00pm EST on Friday, September 13, 2019
Final Response
APHL must receive complete responses by
5:00 pm EST on Wednesday, October 9, 2019. Please see Proposal-Required Submissions section in the
Official RFP PDF for items that must be included in the completed proposal. Applicants may send proposals via email to
Anne.Gaynor@aphl.org
APHL will send an email acknowledging the receipt of your application; if you do not receive an acknowledgement within 48 hours, please email the RFP points of contact above to confirm receipt.
Additional Information and Deadlines for Application Submission
Applicants must direct all questions to Anne Gaynor at
anne.gaynor@aphl.org . APHL will post questions received from interested laboratories, together with the answers provided by APHL or CDC staff at the bottom of this page.
Applicants must submit applications to Anne Gaynor at APHL (Anne.Gaynor@aphl.org; 8515 Georgia Ave Suite 700, Silver Spring, MD, 20910; telephone: 240-485-2739; fax: 240-485-2700).
APHL must receive applications, attention Anne Gaynor by close of business (5:00pm ET) Wednesday, October 9, 2019. Either electronic or physical submission is acceptable. APHL will send an email acknowledging the receipt of each application; if you do not receive an acknowledgement within 48 hours, call 240-485-2739 to confirm receipt.
Materials
The
Evaluation of Automated Rapid Plasma Reagin (RPR) Systems for the Diagnosis of Syphilis RFP (revised 9.10.2019) provides detailed information in regards to this request, please read it in its entirety. Additionally, feel free to contact Anne Gaynor at Anne.Gaynor@aphl.org with any questions.
Questions and Answers
Are selected sites required to perform manual RPR?
A: No. Selected sites will only perform testing using their automated RPR system and any off-system dilutions for samples that require tittering.
What is the timeline of performing the 10 replicates for the reproducibility portion of the evaluation?
A: APHL/CDC will work with the selected laboratories to determine the timeline for performing the up to ten replicates of the quantitative RPR on the 15 reproducibility samples. We wouldn’t want them run all in one day, but the number of runs allowed per day could be more than one depending on the selected laboratory instrument and internal workflow. However, there is also a 7 day limitation on storing samples at 4oC once thawed so we will make plans accordingly with the selected laboratories. Applicants are encouraged to include a proposed workflow and timeline for executing this portion of the expected work.
How will the specimens be disbursed throughout the project?
A: Not all of the specimens will be shipped to the selected laboratories at once. APHL/CDC will work with the selected laboratories to determine a timeline and batch size that minimizes disruptions to ongoing clinical testing, while also limiting the number of shipments required. We expect to start with the reproducibility study samples (up to 15 samples) with up to 10 replicates performed. We then expect to send up to 3-4 additional batches of samples in the subsequent months until all samples have been shipped and tested by the selected laboratories.
Which results/tests are required to be run/reported for the BioPlex 2200 Total Syphilis and RPR Kit?
A: We only require that the RPR portion of the test is run and results provided to meet the expectations of the project.
Should the submitted budget include testing for all samples in the RFP?
A: Yes. The budget should reflect testing up to 1050 tests: 1) maximum of 850 qualitative RPR titers 2) a subset of up to 50 of those specimens titered to end-point with a quantitative RPR and 3) up to 15 samples titered to end-point up to 10 times each (150 tests). The RFP will be updated accordingly to indicate that the budget should include testing of all three categories listed above.