Heather Kirk May 3, 2023 0 Comments

Question: “What specifically interests your firm in this requirement?” This will draw some thoughtful answers from respondents to the market research, but the simple answer for many is that the opportunity to win and lead a significant high-profile IT modernization and support contract, within an agency where many government IT and consulting firms would like to do work, is enough reason for potential bidders, large and small, to take a long look. 

The National Institutes of Health (NIH)’s National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) recently announced its plans to compete a three-year contract to acquire complex professional specialized expertise, much of which is in the area of Information Technology (IT) services, to support the operations, maintenance, and modernization of ClinicalTrials.gov. In addition to information technology chops, NCBI has outlined its need for the contractor to be responsible for data quality control and related processes, which includes, but is not limited to review of individual records for apparent errors, deficiencies, internal consistencies; timeliness; use of correct terminology; and use of appropriate and understandable language. 

ClinicalTrials.gov provides patients, family members, health care professionals, researchers, and other members of the public with convenient access to information on clinical studies for a wide range of diseases and conditions. As of December 2022, ClinicalTrials.gov has over 430,000 registered clinical studies sponsored by the NIH, other Federal agencies, non-profit organizations, and private industry. More studies are added daily and an average of 850-1,200 studies are added per week. Studies listed in the database are conducted in all 50 states and in over 220 countries. ClinicalTrials.gov also includes a results database with information on completed studies. The website lists over 56,000 studies with results and 350 – 400 new results submissions are added per week. ClinicalTrials.gov receives over 160 million-page views per month and hosts approximately 200,000 visitors daily. [Source: NIH]  

NIH is currently weighing whether a small business government contractor can meet this need. ICF, a large business, is a known and long-time incumbent supporting NCBI and ClinicalTrials.gov. Much of the work of late appears to have been competed and awarded on the multiple-award NLM Biomedical, Public Health, Clinical and Consumer Health Information Services BPA. OS AI is not aware of any subcontractors to ICF, but BLH Technologies did win a contract last year to provide support for the use of AI for ClinicalTrials.gov using professional and technical support services.  

It is unclear whether small business will be able to convince NIH to compete this as a small business set-aside action (or at least carve out a defined subcontracting plan), but we do expect it won’t be for a lack of trying. Wayne Berry, a small business specialist assigned by the Department of Health and Human Services to support the NIH’s National Library of Medicine will be a key person to know if small business is to have much influence.   

Sample of some Key Points of Contact (Current or Past) 

  • Delfo Sacomizhquiri, Contract Specialist, NIH – delfo.sacomizhquiri@nih.gov
  • Keturah Busey, Contracting Officer, NIH – Keturah.Busey@nih.hhs.gov
  • Wayne Berry, Small Business Specialist, NIH – Wayne.Berry@hhs.gov 
  • Eugene Yaschenko, Chief Technology Officer, Branch Chief of Information Resources, National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)  
  • Kim Pruitt, Chief, Information Engineering Branch at National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)  
  • Ievgeniia Radetska, DevOps Tech Lead, National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI)  
  • Amanda Burton, PhD, Staff Scientist-ClinicalTrials.gov Lead Technical Information Research Specialist at The National Library of Medicine, NIH 
  • Anna Fine, Acting Director at NLM ClinicalTrials.gov 
  • Andrew Schade, Engineering Lead – DevOps Platform at NCBI, NIH 
  • Hibah Nazir, Product manager for Clinicaltrials.gov team, NCBI, NIH 
  • Mary Sanders, Program Manager for ClinicalTrials.gov at ICF 
  • Nachiket Dharker, Product Owner/Lead- ClinicalTrials.gov PRS Modernization, ICF 
  • Praseeda Mullasseril, Lead Results Analyst/Subject Matter Expert, ClinicalTrials.gov, ICF

Related Data  

Looking for an 8(a), WOSB, HUBZone or SDVOSB to partner with at NIH? Click Here   

You can filter the list by several key indicators, to include socio-economic status, NAICS, Contract vehicle, etc.    

IT and Consulting Firms drawing the most attention at the NIH   

Included below is a list of the large and small companies we have noted as drawing the most views by Government and industry leaders on the OrangeSlices AI consultant directory since the beginning of 2023 and that bring direct past performance and/or related relationships in support of the National Institutes of Health.  Did we miss your company? We aim to get it right 100% of the time. Contact us below. 

** An Elev8 GovCon Honoree, noted for a corporate culture that demonstrates excellence, making the company a beacon for talent, for partners, and for clients.       

We cannot and will not speculate here as to the reasons for the increased interest, but whether it is a company evaluating them as a potential partner; a federal acquisition leader doing their due diligence; or a consultant weighing their next job move, this group of companies has been receiving increased interest.  

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