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Charles River Laboratories Signs Licensing Agreement with Washington University
WILMINGTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 22, 2006--Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (NYSE:CRL) (Charles River), a global provider of solutions that advance the drug discovery and development process today announced that they have entered into a licensing agreement with Washington University, whereby Charles River will utilize Washington University's novel murine norovirus and culture system. Murine norovirus (MNV) was discovered to be a non-enveloped RNA virus which has the potential to infect laboratory mice. To protect the integrity of research animals, a reliable testing method is desired to rule out the possibility of murine infection by this pathogen. Utilizing Washington University's culture system technology, Charles River's Research Animal Diagnostic Services division has expanded its comprehensive portfolio of assays for screening of mouse samples by creating assays to detect MNV.
William Barbo, Charles River Laboratories Corporate Vice President, Research Model Services, said, "Charles River is pleased to join Washington University in this licensing agreement. Utilizing the innovative MNV technology developed in the laboratories of Dr. Skip Virgin at the university, Charles River will continue to be in the forefront of laboratory animal diagnostic testing."
Jon Kratochvil, Business Development Director at Washington University, said, "I am pleased that Charles River Laboratories is the first company to recognize the potential of Dr. Virgin's novel murine norovirus discovery. Based on Charles River's business model, I believe that Charles River is an excellent company to commercialize this technology, and validate the importance and prevalence of this norovirus 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 drug discovery and development process. Our leading-edge products and services are designed to enable our clients to bring drugs to market faster and more efficiently. Backed by our rigorous, best-in-class procedures and our proven data collection, analysis and reporting capabilities, our products and services are organized into three categories spanning every step of the drug development pipeline: Research Models and Services, Preclinical Services, and Clinical Services. Charles River's customer base includes all of the major pharmaceutical companies and many biotechnology companies, government agencies and leading hospitals and academic institutions. Charles River's 8,400 employees serve clients in more than 50 countries. For more information on Charles River, visit our website at www.criver.com.
About Washington University
Washington University School of Medicine's full-time and volunteer faculty physicians also are the medical staff of Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals. The School of Medicine is one of the leading medical research, teaching and patient care institutions in the nation, currently ranked third in the nation by U.S. News & World Report and is ranked fourth among U.S. medicals schools in funding from the National Institutes of Health. Through its affiliations with Barnes-Jewish and St. Louis Children's hospitals, the School of Medicine is linked to BJC HealthCare.
CONTACT: Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.
Elizabeth Ferber, 978-658-6000 ext. 1693
Director, Global Communications
F: 978-658-7841
corpcomm@crl.com
SOURCE: Charles River Laboratories International, Inc.