Existing Illumina sequencing Infrastructure

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has issued a Notice of Intent to award a sole-source, firm-fixed-price purchase order to Illumina Inc. for the Illumina Protein Prep platform. This platform is required to support the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS) Genomic Technology Section. The proprietary platform combines high-throughput, next-generation sequencing (NGS)-based proteomics with approximately 9,500 SOMAmer protein targets and dynamic range compression technology to detect low-abundance proteins. Crucially, the system natively integrates with NIAMS's existing Illumina sequencing infrastructure, including the NovaSeq X Plus platform and DRAGEN bioinformatics pipelines. This integration provides a streamlined sample-to-analysis workflow, eliminating the need for additional software development or customization. Although this notice is not a request for competitive bids, the government will consider capability statements from qualified small businesses (including 8(a), SDVOSB, HUBZone, SDB, and WOSB) to determine if a competitive acquisition is warranted. Capability statements must be submitted to Lynda.Cole@nih.gov by 7:00 a.m. EST on Thursday, July 30, 2026. If no viable alternative is identified, the sole-source award is expected to be issued approximately ten days after the notice date.