Charles River Laboratories Signs Licensing Agreement with Washington University

Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.(NYSE:CRL) (Charles River), a global provider of solutions thatadvance the drug discovery and development process today announcedthat they have entered into a licensing agreement with WashingtonUniversity, whereby Charles River will utilize Washington University'snovel murine norovirus and culture system. Murine norovirus (MNV) wasdiscovered to be a non-enveloped RNA virus which has the potential toinfect laboratory mice. To protect the integrity of research animals,a reliable testing method is desired to rule out the possibility ofmurine infection by this pathogen. Utilizing Washington University'sculture system technology, Charles River's Research Animal DiagnosticServices division has expanded its comprehensive portfolio of assaysfor screening of mouse samples by creating assays to detect MNV.

William Barbo, Charles River Laboratories Corporate VicePresident, Research Model Services, said, "Charles River is pleased tojoin Washington University in this licensing agreement. Utilizing theinnovative MNV technology developed in the laboratories of Dr. SkipVirgin at the university, Charles River will continue to be in theforefront of laboratory animal diagnostic testing."

Jon Kratochvil, Business Development Director at WashingtonUniversity, said, "I am pleased that Charles River Laboratories is thefirst company to recognize the potential of Dr. Virgin's novel murinenorovirus discovery. Based on Charles River's business model, Ibelieve that Charles River is an excellent company to commercializethis technology, and validate the importance and prevalence of thisnorovirus in mouse colonies and ensuing research projects."

About Charles River Laboratories

Charles River Laboratories, based in Wilmington, Massachusetts,U.S., is a global provider of solutions that advance the drugdiscovery and development process. Our leading-edge products andservices are designed to enable our clients to bring drugs to marketfaster and more efficiently. Backed by our rigorous, best-in-classprocedures and our proven data collection, analysis and reportingcapabilities, our products and services are organized into threecategories spanning every step of the drug development pipeline:Research Models and Services, Preclinical Services, and ClinicalServices. Charles River's customer base includes all of the majorpharmaceutical companies and many biotechnology companies, governmentagencies and leading hospitals and academic institutions. CharlesRiver's 8,400 employees serve clients in more than 50 countries. Formore information on Charles River, visit our website atwww.criver.com.

About Washington University

Washington University School of Medicine's full-time and volunteerfaculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St.Louis Children's hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of theleading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions inthe nation, currently ranked third in the nation by U.S. News & WorldReport and is ranked fourth among U.S. medicals schools in fundingfrom the National Institutes of Health. Through its affiliations withBarnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals, the School ofMedicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.