Charles River Acquires Phase I Unit

Charles River Laboratories International (CRL) has acquired privately held Tacoma, WA-based Northwest Kinetics for $29.5 million dollars. The acquisition establishes a Phase I clinical services capacity for CRL in North America, which in conjunction with its Phase I facility in Edinburgh, Scotland, positions the company to support its clients’ clinical pharmacology studies and further expands CRL’s role in preclinical and early clinical development.

Northwest Kinetics is a 150-bed facility with expertise in branded-drug studies. It is currently in the process of expanding to 250 beds, which provides a platform for continued growth. When the expansion is completed in the fourth quarter of 2006, CRL will have a global capacity of more than 300 beds.

James C. Foster, chairman, president and chief executive officer of CRL, said, “Our mission is to support our clients’ drug development needs from discovery to preclinical development to Phase I clinical trials, and the acquisition of Northwest Kinetics meets a key objective in strengthening our Phase I service offerings. With this acquisition, we can now offer high-end clinical pharmacology services in North America, complementing our presence in Scotland. Through its management’s deep scientific and medical backgrounds, Northwest Kinetics has established itself as a premier provider of branded drug studies, and we expect to leverage that expertise on a global basis as we expand our Phase I service offerings. Northwest Kinetics’ scientific excellence and outstanding customer service make it a superb fit for us, as these are the hallmarks of Charles River. We are very pleased to welcome Northwest Kinetics to the Charles River family.”