Investor Relations

WILMINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 30, 2003--Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) announced today that Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer James C. Foster and Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Thomas F. Ackerman will present at the JPMorgan 22nd Annual Healthcare Conference in San Francisco, California on Tuesday, January 13, 2004, at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time.

A live webcast of the presentation will be available through a link that will be posted on the Investor Relations section of the Charles River Laboratories website, http://ir.criver.com. A webcast replay will be accessible through the Investor Relations section of the Company's website approximately three hours following the presentation and will remain available until Tuesday, January 20, 2003. The associated slide presentation will be available for downloading during that time.

Charles River Laboratories, based in Wilmington, Massachusetts, is a leading provider of critical research tools and integrated support services that enable innovative and efficient drug discovery and development. The Company is the global leader in providing the animal research models required in research and development for new drugs, devices and therapies. The Company also offers a broad and growing portfolio of biomedical products and services that enable customers to reduce cost, increase speed, and enhance productivity and effectiveness in drug discovery and development. Charles River's customer base spans over 50 countries, and includes all of the major pharmaceutical companies, biotechnology companies, and many leading hospitals and academic institutions. The Company operates 82 facilities in 16 countries worldwide.

Caution Concerning Forward-Looking Statements. This document includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements may be identified by the use of words such as "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "estimate," "plan," "outlook," and "project" and other similar expressions that predict or indicate future events or trends or that are not statements of historical matters. These statements are based on management's current expectations, and involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by the forward-looking statements, and the Company expressly does not undertake any duty to update forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this document. Those risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: a decrease in pre-clinical research and development spending or a decrease in the level of outsourced services; acquisition integration risks; special interest groups; contaminations; industry trends; new displacement technologies; USDA and FDA regulations; changes in law; continued availability of products and supplies; loss of key personnel; interest rate and foreign currency exchange rate fluctuations; changes in generally accepted accounting principles; and any changes in business, political, or economic conditions due to the threat of future terrorist activity in the U.S. and other parts of the world, and related U.S. military action overseas. A further description of these risks, uncertainties, and other matters can be found in the Risk Factors detailed in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K as filed on March 20, 2003, with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    CONTACT: Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.
             Investor Relations:
             Susan E. Hardy, 978-658-6000 Ext.1616

    SOURCE: Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.