Charles River Laboratories

History

Year	Detail
Early Years (1947-1990)
1947	Charles River Breeding Laboratories was founded in Boston.
1955	The company’s headquarters was relocated to Wilmington, Massachusetts.
1956	The company introduced its first Caesarean-originated Barrier Sustained (COBS) animals.
1966	The company opened its new animal production facility in France.
1984	The company introduced its Virus Antibody Free (VAF/Plus) animals.
1988	The company has entered into the field of transgenic services.
More than a Mouse (1991-2000)
1992	The company has broadened its offerings by acquiring Specific Pathogen Antigen Free Avian Services (SPAFAS), which enables the production of eggs, poultry, and serologic diagnostic services from Sharp, Merck, and Dohme.
1996	The company acquired Endosafe, Inc., a Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) products and services provider.
1998	The company includes biopharmaceutical services to expand its portfolio across biosafety and analytical testing.
2000	The company was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CRL).
Growth in the 21st Century (2001-2013)
2002	The company launched the Humane Care Imperative (HCI), specifically designed to raise awareness and offer employee training on animal welfare.
2009	The company acquired Piedmont Research Center, LLC and Cerebricon, Ltd.
2013	The company acquired Vital River to deliver high-quality research models and services to an emerging drug discovery and development market in China.
Every Step of the Way (2014-Present)
2014	The company acquired Argenta and BioFocus, making it a full-service early-stage contract research organization (CRO).
2015	The company acquired Oncotest GmbH to enhance its oncology capabilities in its Discovery Services business segment.
2016	The company acquired WIL Research to accelerate further its ability to offer worldwide safety assessment, contract development, and manufacturing (CDMO) services.
2020	The company acquired HemaCare to expand Charles River’s scientific capabilities in the cell-therapy market.
2021	The company acquired Distributed Bio, expanding its scientific capabilities in a large-molecule discovery platform.
	The company acquired Vigene Biosciences to strengthen its ability to provide clients with end-to-end cell and gene therapy support.
2022	The company acquired Explora BioLabs, which complements and expands its Charles River Accelerator and Development Lab (CRADL) operation.
2023	The company acquired SAMDI Tech, Inc., a leading provider of high-throughput screening (HTS) solutions for drug discovery research.