Charles River Awarded National Cancer Institute Contract.

Business Editors & Health/Medical Writers

BIOWIRE2K

WILMINGTON, Mass.--(BW HealthWire)--Sept. 25, 2001

Charles River Laboratories, Inc. (NYSE: CRL) has been awarded a five-year, $24 million contract to manage a portion of the research support operations of the National Cancer Institute's Frederick Cancer Research and Development Center. If exercised by the NCI, a two-year option would extend the contract to a total of seven years, and to $35 million.

Charles River has managed the research animal production and maintenance operations for the NCI since 1994 under a seven-year $30 million contract. Based primarily on the technical merits of its proposal as well as its past performance, the Company awarded this contract following a competitive bidding process.

Since 1972, NCI-Frederick has been a leading institution engaged in the conduct and support of basic, applied and developmental research into the cause, treatment and cure of cancer, and later, AIDS. Charles River will continue to manage the production and maintenance of animal research models, principally rats and mice, use by NCI researchers in their many research initiatives. Charles River's more than fifty years of experience in laboratory animal science makes it uniquely qualified to provide research institutions such as the NIH with the highest level of expertise and technical support. Charles River is also widely known for its initiatives focused on the humane and ethical care and use of animals in the conduct of critical biomedical research activities.

Mr. James C. Foster, Chairman & CEO of Charles River, commented: "We're pleased, and indeed proud, to once again serve the NCI-Frederick research team as they continue their critically important efforts to better understand and treat cancer and AIDS. This long-term relationship allows us to bring our strengths in laboratory animal science and humane and ethical management of animal research models, to support the NCI's world class scientific research team. It's an honor to be involved with an institution such as the NCI, and we will continue to do everything we can to help make their life-saving research programs function efficiently, productively and humanely."

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 and biotechnology companies, as well as many leading hospitals and academic institutions. The Company operates 75 facilities in 15 countries worldwide.

This document contains "forward looking statements." Such statements 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, including acquisition integration risks, special interest groups, contaminations, industry trends, new displacement technologies, outsourcing trends, USDA and FDA regulation, changes in law, special interests groups, continued availability of products and supplies, personnel and control, and others that are described in the Risk Factors contained in Company's Registration Statement of Form S-3, as filed on July 19, 2001. The Company disclaims any intent or obligation to update forward looking statements, and otherwise claims the safe harbor protections for forward looking statements afforded under The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.