Charles River Labs history

1952: Foster begins breeding germfree animals for laboratory research.

1955 The company’s headquarters is relocated to Wilmington, Massachusetts and begins commercial production of pathogen-free rodents by utilizing the industry’s first barrier-type building for rat production.

1956 The first Caesarean-Originated, Barrier Sustained (COBS®) animals are introduced, which become the new industry standard for animal production.

In 1959 Foster's younger brother, Sumner, joined the company and took over marketing.

Testing that required the use of laboratory animals picked up significantly after the 1960 passage of the Federal Hazardous Substances Act and other legislation that followed.

Becton Dickson, makers of medical supplies, set up operations in 1964, but ten years later would sell its animal business to Charles River.

Giant corporation Ralston Purina bought out a small breeder in 1966 to jump start operations and also failed to dislodge Charles River from its dominant position.

In 1968 Foster made an initial public offering of stock for Charles River Breeding Laboratories, selling 80,000 shares at $16 each.

1969 Astromice® become the first earth animals to be exposed to moon dust prior to the release from quarantine of Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins.

By 1970, Charles River generated $5.5 million in revenues, resulting in net income of $564,100.

In January 1971 the company sold another 55,000 shares of stock to finance further construction of facilities.

In 1972 Charles River became involved in breeding germfree Rhesus monkeys.

Revenues continued their steady growth, approaching $10 million in 1973, with a net profit exceeding $1 million for the first time.

James had joined the company in 1976 as counsel and held a number of management positions as he prepared to succeed his father, who at the age of 67 had other interests to occupy his time.

The demand for the monkeys increased after India banned the export of Rhesus monkeys in 1978, following the revelation that the United States military was testing the effects of neutron radiation on the animals.

By 1980 the company would be selling 18 million animals a year, its revenues would top $35 million, and net income would reach $3.85 million.

By 1981, however, Florida conservationists were beginning efforts to force Charles River to remove its monkey colonies, an issue that would heat up considerably 15 years later.

1984 Virus Antibody Free (VAF/Plus®) animals are introduced, setting the standard for high-quality research models.

1987 The first commercial transgenic strain Oncomouse is produced and transferred to Charles River from Dupont.

In 1988, the organization started to expand their portfolio to include the creation of transgenic mice and rats.

He and his wife had become contemporary art collectors, and in 1991 he was named as chairman of the board for Boston's Museum of Fine Arts, which was gearing up for a major funding campaign.

By 1992 it was estimated that Charles River added $200 million to the annual revenues of Bausch & Lomb.

1994 In vitro endotoxin testing solutions become available from Charles River.

1996 Endosafe, Inc., a manufacturer of Limulus Amebocyte Lysate (LAL) products and provider of related services, is acquired.

1997 Jim Foster buys the company back from Bausch & Lomb.

1998 Charles River expands its portfolio to include biopharmaceutical services, offering a full range of biosafety and analytical testing.

1999 Sierra Biomedical, a company specializing in large animal toxicology testing, is acquired.

In June 2000 the company raised $224 million in an initial public offering of stock.

In 2001 Charles River paid $51.9 million for Primedica Corp., a preclinical research subsidiary.

Charles River launched the Humane Care Imperative in 2002, designed to raise awareness and train their employees on the importance of animal welfare.

The company then introduced preconditioning services in 2005 to provide their customers with study-ready animals.

In 2008, Charles River signed a ten-year contract to partner with the National Cancer Institute and opened a facility in Frederick, Maryland.

2009 Piedmont Research Center, LLC in Morrisville, NC and Cerebricon, Ltd. in Finland are acquired.

Launched by Charles River Labs in 2012, the site is a way for scientists to connect and share big ideas on the cutting edge bench science driving drug discovery and development.

2013 Acquisition of Vital River allows Charles River to provide high-quality research models and services to an emerging market for drug discovery and development in China, setting standards for research models in the third-largest pharmaceutical market in the world.

2014 Argenta and BioFocus are acquired, positioning Charles River as a full service, early-stage contract research organization (CRO), with integrated in vitro and in vivo capabilities from target discovery through preclinical development.

2015 The Avian Vaccine Services business is bolstered with the acquisition of Sunrise Farms, Inc.

2016 WIL Research is acquired to further enhance the company’s ability to provide safety assessment and contract development and manufacturing (CDMO) services globally.

2017 Brains On-Line, a CRO that provides data that helps advance novel therapeutics for the treatment of central nervous system diseases, is acquired.

2018 KWS BioTest, a leading CRO specializing in in vitro and in vivo discovery testing is acquired, expanding the company’s expertise in immunology.

In April 2019, Charles River announced it will be ceasing its San Diego-area operations, moving the work to one of its sites in Northern California.

2020 HemaCare, a leader in the production of human-derived cellular products for the cell therapy market, is acquired, expanding Charles River’s scientific capabilities in this emerging, high-growth sector.