Notice of Intended Procurement
NAME OF PROCURING ENTITY
The Governing Council of the University of Toronto (the “University”)
CONTACT PERSON AND CONTRACT PERSON COORDINATES
Renee Cheng
215 Huron Street, 3rd Floor
Toronto, ON M5S 1A2
reneeke.cheng@utoronto.ca
PROCUREMENT DOCUMENTS
The procurement documents are available at www.merx.com.
Note that obtaining access to the procurement documents will require prospective suppliers to register and pay a registration fee. Pricing and Payment Terms are available on the MERX website.
DESCRIPTION OF PROCUREMENT
The University is conducting an RFP for Automated Quantitative Pathology Imaging System
The University of Toronto, with support from the Canadian Foundation for Innovation and the Ontario Research Fund Infrastructure Grants, is establishing a facility for automated quantitative pathology imaging system at the Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases (CRND) at University of Toronto. Tanz CRND is one of very few locations in Canada that concentrates researchers focusing on neurodegenerative disease using different and complementary methodologies. The infrastructure of Tanz CRND permits to use the equipment for several researchers at the same location. The use of a state-of-the-art quantitative pathology method will permit the team to evaluate neurodegeneration-related proteins with each other and with pathogenesis relevant proteins including pharmaceutically targetable receptors involved in uptake, transport and processing mechanisms or with other critical neuronal and glial functions. The Department of Tanz Centre for Research in Neurodegenerative Diseases intends to purchase one (1) Automated Quantitative Pathology Imaging System. The equipment will be used by several research groups working with experimental animal models but a particular focus will be on studying human brain tissue.
The procurement is anticipated to involve negotiation. An electronic auction is not anticipated.
ADDRESS AND FINAL DATE FOR SUBMISSIONS
Submissions must be submitted electronically at https://utoronto.bonfirehub.ca/ on or before Friday, May 24, 2024 (2:00 PM local time). The submissions will not be opened publicly.
CONDITIONS FOR PARTICIPATION
Proponents should achieve a score of 65% out of the available technical 80 points of 100 points.
APPLICABLE TRADE AGREEMENTS
This procurement is subject to the following trade agreement(s):
- The Canadian Free Trade Agreement, Chapter Five
- The Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, Chapter 19
- The Ontario-Quebec Trade and Cooperation Agreement, Chapter 9
CONTRACT DETAILS
The term of Agreement is intended to be for a period of five (5) years including the first year of warranty period and following four (4) years of extended warranty.
EVALUATION CRITERIA
The University will base its selection of qualified suppliers on the following criteria:
Schedule D Part 1
Technical Submission Requirements Weight
B.1 Experience and Qualifications 5
B.2 Technical Requirements
B.2.1 Imaging system 40
1) Optics 5
2) Automated unmixing 5
3) Whole slide imaging 5
4) Coverslip detection 3
5) Elimination of lab vibrations 3
6) Multispectral imaging 5
7) Annotation system 4
8) Brightfield and fluorescent slides 2
9) Multispectral imaging 2
10) Tissue microarray (TMA) acquisition 2
11) Software compatibility 2
12) Spectral scan 2
B.2.2 Software Requirements 15
1) Software and process flow 2
2) Signal from each of multiple fluorophores 3
3) Tissue segmentation algorithms 3
4) Workflow interface 3
5) Pattern-recognition and phenotyping algorithms 3
6) Licenses 1
B.2.3 Regulatory and Industry Standards
Compliance 1
B.3 Delivery, Installation and Testing 5
B.4 Training Requirements 4
B.5 Warranty and Extended Warranty Services 8
B.6 Optional Value-Adds 2
Schedule D Part 2 Financial Submission 20
Total 100
Optional Demonstration 15
Total incl. Optional Presentation 115
NOTES
Suppliers should note that information contained within this notice is subject to change. Suppliers are encouraged to obtain the procurement documents which contain the most current information. If there is a conflict between the procurement documents and this notice, the procurement documents will take precedence.
