Back to GetFilings.com

UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

Commission File No. 333-92383

CHARLES RIVER LABORATORIES INTERNATIONAL, INC.
(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

(Registrant's telephone number, including area code): (978) 658-6000

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

        Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes ý    No o

        Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the Registrant's knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. o

        Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Exchange Act Rule 12b-2). Yes ý    No o

        On June 25, 2004, the aggregate market value of the Registrant's voting common stock held by non-affiliates of the Registrant was approximately $2,150,196,678.

        As of March 1, 2005, there were outstanding 66,109,790 shares of the Registrant's common stock, $0.01 par value per share.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

        Portions of the Registrant's Definitive Proxy Statement for its 2005 Annual Meeting of Stockholders scheduled to be held on May 9, 2005 (the "2005 Proxy Statement"), which will be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission not later than 120 days after December 25, 2004, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. With the exception of the portions of the 2005 Proxy Statement expressly incorporated into this Annual Report on Form 10-K by reference, such document shall not be deemed filed as part of this Form 10-K.

CHARLES RIVER LABORATORIES INTERNATIONAL, INC.
ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

Item 1. Business

General

        This Annual Report on Form 10-K (Form 10-K), contains forward-looking statements regarding future events and the future results of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. (Charles River) that are based on current expectations, estimates, forecasts, and projections about the industries in which Charles River operates and the beliefs and assumptions of the management of Charles River. Words such as "expect," "anticipate," "target," "goal," "project," "intend," "plan," "believe," "seek," "estimate," and other similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are predictions of future events or trends and are not statement of historical matters. These statements are based on current expectations and beliefs of Charles River and involve a number of risks, uncertainties, and assumptions that are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual results may differ materially and adversely from those expressed in any forward-looking statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this document or in the case of statements incorporated by reference, on the date of the document incorporated by reference. Factors that might cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to, those discussed in this Form 10-K under the section entitled "Risks Related to Our Business and Industry." Except to the extent required by applicable law or regulation, Charles River undertakes no obligation to revise or update publicly any forward-looking statements for any reason.

Corporate History

        Charles River has been in business since 1947 and has undergone several business structure changes over the years. Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. was incorporated in 1994. In 2000, we completed our initial public offering of Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. Our stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "CRL "and is included in the Standard & Poor's S&P MidCap 400 Index. We are headquartered in Wilmington, Massachusetts. Our headquarters mailing address is 251 Ballardvale St., Wilmington, MA 01887, and the telephone number at that location is (978) 658-6000. Our Internet site is www.criver.com. Material contained on our Internet site is not incorporated by reference into this Form 10-K. Unless the context otherwise requires, references in this Form 10-K to "Charles River," "we," "us" or "our" refer to Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. and its subsidiaries.

        This Form 10-K, as well as all other reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), are available free of charge through the investor relations section of our Internet site as soon as practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. The public may read and copy any materials we file with the SEC at the SEC's Public Reference Room at 450 Fifth Street NW, Washington, DC 20549. The public may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. The SEC maintains an Internet site (http://www.sec.gov) that contains reports, proxy and information statements, and other information regarding issuers that file electronically with the SEC.

Overview

        We are a leading global provider of solutions that advance the drug discovery and development process. We provide the animal research models required in research and development for new drugs, devices and therapies and have been in this business for more than 55 years. For over a decade, we have built upon our research model technologies to develop a diverse and growing portfolio of products and services. Our wide array of tools and services enables our customers to reduce costs, increase speed and enhance their productivity and effectiveness in drug and medical device discovery and

1

development. Our customer base includes major pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies, as well as many government agencies, leading hospitals and academic institutions throughout the world. We currently operate over 100 facilities in 20 countries worldwide. Our products and services, supported by our global infrastructure and deep scientific expertise, enable our customers to meet many of the challenges of early-stage life sciences research, a large and growing market. In 2004, our net sales were $766.9 million and our operating income was $160.3 million which includes the nine weeks in the year during which Inveresk was owned by us.

        In October 2004, we acquired Inveresk Research Group, Inc. (Inveresk), which significantly expanded our overall size and the breadth of the products and services that we offer, and strengthened our global footprint in the growing market for pharmaceutical research and development products and services. The addition of Inveresk brought a number of highly complementary service offerings and expanded our geographic reach. The expanded global footprint, with added strength in key markets such as the United States, Canada, Europe and Japan, better aligns us with our key pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers, who are increasingly seeking to outsource more of their preclinical and clinical research and development efforts and are seeking full service, global partners.

        Prior to the acquisition, Inveresk was a publicly-traded company and a leading provider of drug development services to companies in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries. Through its preclinical and clinical business segments, it offered a broad range of drug development services, including preclinical safety and pharmacology evaluation services, laboratory sciences services and clinical development services. This acquisition broadened our portfolio of high-end products and services including general toxicology, specialty infusion and inhalation toxicology and clinical services.

        As part of the integration of Inveresk's business operations, in the fourth quarter of 2004, we changed our business reporting segments. We now have three reporting segments: Research Models and Services (RMS), Preclinical Services (formerly our DST segment), which is a combination of Inveresk's preclinical business with our legacy preclinical business, and Clinical Services. We have moved our in vitro business out of our Preclinical Services segment to our RMS segment. We believe that the new business segments better reflect our results of operations and facilitate understanding of our business. The changes in segment presentation have no effect on our consolidated revenues or net income. Prior year segment information included in this Form 10-K has been restated to reflect this change.

Research Models and Services (RMS)

        With 20 facilities on three continents, we have continued to maintain our position as the global leader in the production and sale of research models, principally genetically and virally defined purpose-bred rats and mice, and have been supplying research models since 1947. We also provide a variety of related services that are designed to assist our customers in screening drug candidates. RMS accounted for 62.2% of total net sales in 2004.

        Research Models.    A significant portion of this business is comprised of the commercial production and sale of animal research models, principally purpose-bred rats, mice and other rodents for use by researchers. Our research models include genetically defined models and models with compromised immune systems, which are increasingly in demand as early-stage research tools. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and foreign regulatory bodies typically require the safety and efficacy of new drug candidates and many medical devices to be tested on research models like ours prior to testing in humans. As a result, our research models are an essential part of the drug discovery and development process. Our research models are bred and maintained in barrier rooms which are designed to ensure that the animals are free of specific viral and bacterial agents and other contaminants that can disrupt research operations and distort results. With our barrier room production capabilities we are able to

2

deliver consistently high quality research models worldwide. We also provide larger animal models to the research community, principally for use in their drug development and testing studies.

        Our small research models include:

•

outbred animals, which are genetically heterogeneous;



•

inbred animals, which are genetically identical;



•

other genetically-modified research models;



•

hybrid animals, which are the offspring of two different inbred parents;



•

spontaneous mutant animals, which contain a naturally-occurring genetic mutation (such as immune deficiency); and



•

new types of models including knock-out models with one or more disabled genes and transgenic animals, which contain genetic material transferred from a different species.

        We offer one of the largest selections of small animal models and provide our customers with high-volume and high-quality production. Our rats, mice and other rodent species have been and continue to be some of the most extensively used research models in the world, largely as a result of our continuous commitment to innovation and quality in the breeding process. We provide our small animal models to numerous customers around the world, including most pharmaceutical companies, major biotechnology companies, many government agencies, and leading hospital and academic institutions. Since 2001, we have been offering new and proprietary, disease-specific rat models used to find new treatments for diseases such as diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular and kidney disease.

        We believe that over the next several years, many new research models will be developed and used in biomedical research, such as transgenic models with modified genetic material, knock-out models with one or more disabled genes, and transgenic models that incorporate or exclude a particular mouse, rat or human gene. These more highly-defined and characterized models will allow researchers to further focus their investigations into disease conditions and potential new therapies or interventions. We intend to build upon our position as the leader in this field to expand our presence in this market for higher-value research models.

        RMS also offers services designed to assist our customers in screening drug candidates faster by providing a variety of services related to genetically-defined research models for in-house research and by implementing efficacy screening protocols to improve the customer's drug evaluation process. These services, initiated in 1995, address the growing need among pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to outsource the non-core aspects of their drug discovery activities. These services capitalize on the technologies and relationships developed through our research model business. We currently offer five major categories of research models products and services: transgenic services, laboratory services, consulting and staffing services, vaccine support and in vitro technology services.

        Transgenic Services.    In this area of our business, we assist our customers in validating, maintaining, improving, breeding and testing research models purchased or created by them for biomedical research activities. While the creation of a transgenic model can be a critical scientific event, it is only the first step in the discovery process. Productive utilization of research models requires significant additional technical expertise. We provide transgenic breeding expertise, model characterization and colony development, genetic characterization, phenotyping, quarantine, embryo cryopreservation, embryo transfer and health and genetic monitoring. We provide these services to nearly 200 laboratories around the world from pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies to hospitals and universities. We maintain more than 1,000 different types of naturally occurring or experimentally manipulated research models for our customers. We expect that the demand for our services will grow as the use of genetically modified research models continues to grow within the

3

research community. In order to meet the growing demand for these services, we are adding capacity in Europe and Japan in 2005.

        Laboratory Services.    We assist our customers in monitoring and analyzing the health and genetics of the research models used in their research protocols. We developed this capability internally by building upon the scientific foundation created by the diagnostic laboratory needs of our research model business. Depending upon a customer's needs, we may serve as its sole-source testing laboratory, or as an alternative source supporting its internal laboratory capabilities. We believe that the continued growth in development and characterization and utilization of specific disease models and genetically engineered models, such as transgenic models, will drive our future growth as the reference laboratory of choice for health and genetic testing of laboratory animals.

        Consulting and Staffing Services.    Building upon our core capability as a leading provider of high-quality research models, we manage animal care operations on behalf of government and academic organizations, as well as commercial customers in the biotechnology and related sectors. Demand for our services reflects the growing necessity of these large institutions to outsource internal functions or activities that are not critical to the core scientific innovation process. In addition, we believe that our expertise in animal care and facility operations enhances the productivity and quality of our customers' animal care and use programs. This area leads to additional opportunities for us to provide other products and services to our customers. Site management does not typically require us to make any incremental investment, thereby generating a favorable return on deployed assets.

        Vaccine Support.    We are the global leader for the supply of specific pathogen-free, or SPF, chickens and fertile chicken eggs. SPF chicken embryos are used by animal health companies as self-contained "bioreactors" for the manufacture of live and inactivated viruses. These viruses are used as a raw material primarily in poultry, as well as human vaccine, applications. The production of SPF eggs is done under biosecure conditions, similar in many ways to our research model production. We have a worldwide presence that includes several SPF egg production facilities in the United States, as well as facilities in Germany and Australia, and a joint venture in Mexico. We also operate a specialized avian laboratory in the United States, which provides in-house testing and support services to our customers.

        In Vitro Technology.    Our in vitro business provides non-animal, or in vitro, methods for testing the safety of drugs and medical devices. We are committed to being the leader in providing our customers with in vitro alternatives as these methods become scientifically validated and commercially feasible. Our in vitro technology business produces and distributes test kits, reagents, software, accessories, instruments and associated services to pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for medical devices and other products worldwide. We are a market leader in endotoxin testing, which is used for quality control testing of injectable drugs and medical devices, their components and the processes under which they are manufactured, for the presence of endotoxins. Quality control testing for endotoxin contamination by our customers is an FDA requirement for injectable drugs and medical devices. Endotoxin testing uses a processed extract from the blood of the horseshoe crab, known as limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL). The LAL test is the first and only major FDA-validated in vitro alternative to an animal model test for endotoxin detection in pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturing. The process of extracting blood is generally not harmful to the crabs, which are subsequently returned to their natural ocean environment. Our Endosafe Portable Testing System (Endosafe®-PTS) is a portable endotoxin testing platform which allows endotoxin testing in the field, affording researchers accurate and timely results. We are currently pursuing FDA approval of our PTS system.

Preclinical Services

        Discovery represents the earliest stages of research and development in the life sciences, directed to the identification, screening and selection of a lead compound for future drug development.

4

Discovery is followed by development activities, which are directed at demonstrating the safety and efficacy of the selected drug candidates. During the preclinical stage of the development process, the drug candidate is tested in vitro (in a test tube) and in vivo (in research models) generally over a one to three-year period. Discovery and development represent most of the preclinical activities in drug development. The development services portion of our preclinical business segment enables our customers to outsource their non-core drug development activities to us. These activities are typically required for support of the regulatory filings necessary to obtain FDA approval. The demand for these services is driven by the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries' trends to outsource certain preclinical drug discovery and development activities.

        We are one of the two largest providers of preclinical services worldwide, with market leading positions in general and specialty toxicology, with facilities in the United States, Canada and Europe. The Preclinical Services segment combines our previously called development and safety testing business with Inveresk's preclinical testing business and represented 34.7% of our total net sales in 2004. With the consolidation of Inveresk for a full year, we believe that our Preclinical Services segment will represent a larger share of total sales in 2005. We currently offer preclinical services in the following main areas of drug discovery and development:

        General and Specialty Toxicology.    Our team of scientists, including toxicologists, pathologists, and regulatory specialists, designs and performs general and highly specialized studies to evaluate the safety and toxicity of new pharmaceutical compounds, industrial chemicals, food additives, agrochemicals and other materials. We are an industry leader in the fields of reproductive and developmental toxicology, photobiology, infusion and inhalation toxicology, and other specialty toxicological assessments. We also perform immunotoxicology studies designed to detect, in vitro, the effects of a pharmaceutical on the human immune systems.

        Pathology Services.    In the drug development process, the ability to identify and characterize pathologic changes within tissues and cells is critical in determining the safety of a new compound. We employ highly trained pathologists who use state-of-the-art techniques to identify pathology within tissues and cells, as well as at the molecular level. Frequently, decisions regarding continued product development are dependent on these pathology findings.

        Interventional and Surgical Services (ISS).    Many sophisticated drugs are designed to be administered directly to a precise location within the body using surgical, or "invasive," techniques. The development of these and certain other drugs requires the use of surgical techniques to administer a drug, or to observe its effects in various tissues. Our ISS group offers extensive capabilities in this area, and has collaborated with world-renowned experts in the fields of cardiology, inflammation, and pathology at leading academic institutions. Our ISS unit also provides a wide variety of medical device testing services from prototype feasibility testing to long-term GLP, or good laboratory practices, studies, primarily in large research models. The FDA requires companies introducing medical devices to test the biocompatibility of any new materials that have not previously been approved for contact with human tissue. Our services include cardiovascular surgery, biomaterial reactivity studies, orthopedic studies and related laboratory services. We maintain state-of-the-art surgical suites where our skilled professional staff implement custom surgery protocols provided by our customers. In January 2004, we expanded our business in this area with the acquisition of River Valley Farms, a medical device contract research business located near Minneapolis, Minnesota.

        Biopharmaceutical Services.    We provide specialized non-clinical quality control testing that is frequently outsourced by both pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. These services allow our customers to determine if the human protein drug candidates, or the process for manufacturing those products, are essentially free of residual biological materials. The bulk of this testing work is required by the FDA for obtaining new drug approval, maintaining an FDA-licensed manufacturing facility or releasing approved products for use in patients. Our scientific staff consults with customers in the areas

5

of process development, validation, manufacturing scale-up and biological testing. Inveresk added European capabilities.

        Pharmacokinetic and Metabolic Analysis.    Our scientists conduct metabolic studies to reveal how drugs are broken down, absorbed and eliminated from certain organs, tissues and the circulatory systems in multiple species. In addition, we have extensive capabilities and resources which can be directed towards assessing, both in vivo and in vitro, the pharmacokinetic compounds in lead optimization studies. These studies can be performed as part of the drug screening process to help discover and nominate lead compounds, as well as later in the development process to provide information regarding safety and efficacy.

        Bioanalytical Chemistry.    Our bioanalytical chemistry services support all phases of drug discovery and development from lead optimization through non-clinical studies and clinical trials. For lead optimization support, our researchers apply proven high throughput methodologies to rapidly screen compounds to evaluate pharmacokinetic properties. In supporting non-clinical and clinical development studies, our researchers develop and validate assays in full regulatory compliance to support these efforts.

Clinical Services

        The clinical market represents a new market and growth opportunity for us. With the acquisition of Inveresk in October 2004, we acquired a Phase I-IV business, which includes a premier European Phase I clinic and an established international capability to manage Phase II-IV studies. Inveresk's clinical development business was established in 1988. It presently employs approximately 1,000 people and operates from 13 facilities located across the United States and Europe. The Clinical Services segment accounted for approximately 3.2% of our total net sales in 2004. With the consolidation of Inveresk for a full year, we believe that the Clinical Services segment will represent a larger share of total sales in 2005.

Phase I Trials in Patients and Special Populations

        The 62-bed clinic in Edinburgh, Scotland, conducts a wide range of Phase I clinical trials designed to move lead pharmaceutical candidates rapidly from preclinical development through Phase I tolerability assessment to explore human pharmacology. This facility is in close proximity to one of our laboratory sciences facilities, which is responsible for performing the analysis of biological samples generated by our Phase I clinic, guaranteeing fast response times. All of our volunteers go through an intensive screening process to ensure suitability for our studies. Our Phase I clinic can conduct all types of studies and has experience across a wide range of therapeutic areas. We can undertake special population studies in groups such as the elderly, post-menopausal women or patients with specific diagnoses such as asthma or hyper lipidemia disease. Additionally, we conduct Phase I trials in patients for specific indications at investigational sites throughout the United States.

        Earlier in 2004, the European Union attempted to harmonize clinical trial processes between the United States and the European Union. While the process, known as the European Clinical Trial Directive, is likely to ultimately improve the environment for clinical trials in Europe, it led to a slowdown in business from the United States due to an increase in time to initiate Phase I trials by U.S. companies in Europe as U.S. drug companies awaited regulatory clarity prior to initiating new trials. Ultimately, we expect business to return to pre-Directive levels. In the meantime, we have signed business from clients in Europe and Japan which has replaced the U.S. business.

6

Phase II-IV Clinical Development and Regulatory Support

        From our 13 offices worldwide and business operations in more than 20 countries, we manage every aspect of clinical trials from clinical development plans and protocol design to New Drug Applications (NDAs) and post-marketing surveillance. We provide a comprehensive range of services as either a full-service package or as individual stand-alone services. In addition to conducting single site studies in many parts of the world, we have a proven track record of managing large international multi-center trials culminating in regulatory filings. We have supported studies in over 25 countries. Our clinical trials management services include: strategy development; study design; investigator recruitment; project management; quality assurance; patient recruitment; study monitoring; clinical data management; biostatistical analysis; medical research and consulting; post-marketing/Phase IV studies; and services related to switching product classifications from "prescription only" to "over-the-counter."

        We also have significant expertise in conducting patient and other outcomes registries, such as pregnancy registries, on behalf of the pharmaceutical industry, as well as regulatory support. Before a product can be launched in any country, it must be approved by the regulatory agency in that particular country. We offer comprehensive global regulatory product registration services at all stages of development for pharmaceutical and biotechnology products and have particular expertise with the regulations in Europe and North America. Through this service, we help our clients determine the feasibility of developing a particular product or product line.

Our Strategy

        Our business is primarily driven by the continued growth of research and development spending by pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies, the federal government and academic institutions and of outsourced services. According to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufactures of America (PHRMA) 2003 study, it takes 8 to 14 years and costs approximately $1 billion to bring a new drug to market. As the pressure to develop new drugs increases for these industries, so does the pressure to contain costs, implement research in multiple countries simultaneously and identify, hire and retain a breadth of experienced experts. In order to facilitate and speed their research, our pharmaceutical and biotechnology customers have increasingly outsourced services which can be provided by high-quality service providers like Charles River. Outsourcing allows our customers to concentrate their resources on the basic drug development which only they can do, while continuing to advance their most promising products through the development pipeline. These trends, both of which we expect to continue to grow, create opportunities for companies such as ours that can help speed the drug discovery and development process. Our strategy is to capitalize on these opportunities by continuing to build our portfolio of high end, value-added products and services through internal development, joint ventures, partnerships and acquisitions.

        We intend to continue to broaden the scope of our products and services. Primarily through acquisitions and alliances, we have improved our ability to offer new services that complement our existing drug discovery and development businesses. Over the past decade, we have completed 24 acquisitions and alliances that have contributed to our financial results. Several of our operations began as platform acquisitions, which we were able to grow by developing and marketing the acquired products or services to our extensive global customer base. We intend to further pursue strategic platform acquisitions to drive our long-term growth. We believe our approach to acquisitions is a disciplined one that seeks to focus on businesses that are a sound strategic fit and that offer the prospect of enhancing stockholder value. This strategy may include geographic expansion of an existing core service, strengthening of one of our core services or the addition of a new product or service.

        We believe that we are well positioned to exploit both existing and new outsourcing opportunities. We intend to focus our marketing efforts on stimulating demand for further outsourcing to gain

7

additional market share. We also intend to expand our opportunities by continuing to increase our international presence.

Customers

        Our customers continue to consist primarily of large pharmaceutical companies, as well as biotechnology, animal health, medical device and diagnostic companies, hospitals, academic institutions, government agencies and other life sciences companies. We have many long-term, stable relationships with our customers. During 2004, no single commercial customer accounted for more than 5% of our total net sales.

        For information regarding net sales and long-lived assets attributable to each of our business segments for the last three fiscal years, please see Note 16 included in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Form 10-K. For information regarding net sales and long-lived assets attributable to operations in the United States, Europe, Japan and other countries for each of the last three fiscal years, please review Note 16 included in the Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Form 10-K.

Sales, Marketing and Customer Support

        We sell our products and services principally through our direct sales force, the majority of whom work in the United States, with the balance working in Europe and Japan. The direct sales force is supplemented by a network of international distributors for our products businesses. Our primary promotional activities include organizing scientific symposia, publishing scientific papers, making presentations and participating at scientific conferences and trade shows in North America, Europe and Japan. We supplement these scientifically based marketing activities with trade advertising, direct mail, newsletters and our web site.

        Our internal marketing/product management teams support the field sales staff while developing and implementing programs to create close working relationships with customers in the biomedical research industry. We maintain customer service, technical assistance and consulting service departments, which address both our customers' routine and more specialized needs. We frequently assist our customers in solving problems related to animal husbandry, health and genetics, biosecurity, preclinical and clinical study design, regulatory consulting, protocol development and other areas in which our expertise is recognized as a valuable customer resource.

Research and Development

        We do not maintain a fully dedicated research and development staff and therefore, have not had any significant research and development costs in any of the past three fiscal years. Our approach to developing new products or services is to extend our base technologies into new applications and fields, and in some instances to license or acquire technologies to serve as platforms for the development of new businesses that service our existing customer base. Our research and development focus is principally on developing projects that improve our productivity or processes.

Industry Support and Animal Welfare

        One of our core values is a concern for and commitment to animal welfare. We have been in the forefront of animal welfare improvements in our industry, and continue to demonstrate our commitment with special recognition programs for employees who demonstrate an extraordinary commitment in this critical area of our business. We created our own Human Care Initiative, which is directed by our Animal Welfare and Training Group. The goal of the initiative is to assure that we continue as a worldwide leader in the humane care of laboratory animals. Laboratory animals are an important resource that further our knowledge of living systems and contribute to the discovery of

8

life-saving drugs and procedures. We work hand-in-hand with the scientific community to understand how living conditions, handling procedures and stress play an important role in the quality and efficiency of research. As animal caregivers and researchers, we are responsible to our clients and the public for the health and well being of the animals in our care.

        We support a wide variety of organizations and individuals working to further animal welfare as well as the interests of the biomedical research community. We fund internships in laboratory animal medicine, provide financial support to non-profit institutions that educate the public about the benefits of animal research and provide awards and prizes to outstanding leaders in the laboratory animal medicine field. One of our businesses dedicates a portion of its net sales, through a royalty, to support similar programs and initiatives.

Employees

        As of December 25, 2004, we had approximately 8,000 employees, including more than 500 science professionals with advanced degrees including D.V.M.s, Ph.D.s and M.D.s. Our employees are not unionized in the United States, although employees are unionized at some of our European facilities, consistent with local customs for our industry. Our annual satisfaction surveys indicate that we have a good relationship with our employees.

Backlog

        Our backlog for Preclinical Services and Clinical Services was approximately $425.0 million at December 25, 2004. We do not report backlog for the RMS segment because turnaround time from order placement to fulfillment, both for products and services, is fairly rapid. Our preclinical and clinical services are performed over varying times, from a short period of time to extended periods of time, which may be as long as several years. We maintain an order backlog for these segments to track anticipated revenue from studies and projects that either have not started, but are anticipated to begin in the near future, or are in process and have not been completed. We only recognize a study or project in backlog after we have received written evidence of a customer's intention to proceed with a study or project. Cancelled studies or projects are removed from backlog.

        We believe our aggregate backlog as of any date is not necessarily an indicator of our future results for a variety of reasons. First, studies vary in duration. For instance, some studies that are included in 2004 backlog may be completed in 2005, while others may be completed in later years. Second, the scope of studies may change, which may either increase or decrease their value. Third, studies included in backlog may be subject to bonus or penalty payments. Fourth, studies may be terminated or delayed at any time by the client or regulatory authorities. Terminations or delays can result from a number of reasons. Delayed contracts remain in our backlog until a determination of whether to continue, modify or cancel the study has been made.

Competition

        Our strategy is to become a leader in each of the markets in which we participate. We compete in the marketplace on the basis of quality, reputation and availability, supported by our international presence with strategically located facilities.

        The competitive landscape for our three business segments varies. For RMS, our main competitors include three smaller competitors in North America, several smaller competitors in Europe, and two smaller competitors in Japan. Of our main United States competitors, two are privately-held businesses and the third is a government-funded, not-for-profit institution. We believe that none of our competitors in RMS has our comparable global reach, financial strength, breadth of product and services offerings and pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry relationships.

9

        Both our preclinical and clinical businesses compete primarily with in-house departments of pharmaceutical companies, other drug development services organizations, universities and teaching hospitals. We believe we are one of the two largest providers of preclinical services in the world, based on net service revenue. Our commercial competitors for preclinical services are both publicly-held and privately-owned companies. The clinical development services market is highly fragmented, with participants ranging from hundreds of small, limited-service providers to a few full service drug development services organizations with global operations. We believe that we compete for clinical services business with a number of publicly-traded and privately-owned companies.

Regulatory Matters

        The Animal Welfare Act (AWA) governs the treatment of particular species intended for use in research. The AWA imposes a wide variety of specific regulations on producers and users of these species, most notably cage size, shipping conditions, sanitation and environmental enrichment methods. We comply with licensing and registration requirement standards set by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) for handling regulated species, including breeding, research use, maintenance and transportation. However, rats, mice and chickens bred for research are not regulated under the AWA. Congress recently adopted legislation which permanently excludes these species from regulation under the AWA. As a result, most of our United States small animal research model activities and our vaccine support services operations are not subject to regulation under the AWA. Our animal production facilities in the U.S. are accredited by The Association for Assessment and Accreditation of Laboratory Animal Care International (AAALAC), a highly regarded member association which maintains standards that often exceed those of the USDA. Portions of our preclinical business are also generally regulated by the USDA.

        Our foreign animal import facilities are subject to a variety of national, regional, and local laws and regulations, which establish the standards for the humane treatment, care and handling of animals by dealers and research facilities. Our animal import facilities maintain the certificates, licenses, detailed standard operating procedures and other documentation necessary to comply with applicable regulations for the humane treatment of the animals in our custody.

        Our laboratory services are subject to various regulatory requirements designed to ensure the quality and integrity of the development processes. The industry standards for conducting preclinical laboratory testing are embodied in the Good Laboratory Practices (GLP) and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) regulations. The standards of GLP and GMP are required by the FDA, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Department of Health in the United Kingdom, the Health Protection Branch of Health Canada, the Japanese Ministry of Health and Welfare, the European Agency for the Evaluation of Medicinal Products and similar regulatory authorities in other parts of the world. GLP and GMP stipulate requirements for facilities, equipment and professional staff. The regulations require standardized procedures for conducting studies, including procedures for recording and reporting data and for managing study materials and records. To help satisfy our compliance obligations, we have established quality assurance and quality control systems at our laboratories that monitor ongoing compliance with GLP and GMP regulations and the Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendments, as applicable, by auditing development data and conducting inspections of development procedures. In addition, we have obtained FDA approval to conduct Stability and Lot Release Testing in compliance with GMP.

        Our manufacture of test kits and reagents for endotoxin testing is subject to regulation by the FDA under the authority of the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. We are required to register with the FDA as a device manufacturer and are subject to inspection on a routine basis for compliance with the FDA's Quality System Regulations and Good Manufacturing Practices. These regulations require that we manufacture our products and maintain our documents in a prescribed manner with respect to manufacturing, testing and control activities.

10

        The industry standards for the conduct of clinical research and development studies are embodied in the regulations for Good Clinical Practice (GCP). The FDA and other regulatory authorities require that results of clinical trials that are submitted to such authorities be based on studies conducted in accordance with GCP.

        As with GLP, noncompliance with GCP can result in the disqualification of data collected and reports issued during the clinical trial. In addition, under certain clinical contracts, we have directly assumed certain obligations of the study sponsor under FDA regulations.

        Our standard operating procedures are written in accordance with regulations and guidelines appropriate to the region and the nation where they will be used. All clinical research is carried out in accordance with the International Conference on Harmonization—Good Clinical Practice Guidelines and the requirements of the applicable country. Although the United States is a signatory to these guidelines, the FDA has not adopted all of the guidelines as statutory regulations, but has currently adopted them only as guidelines. From an international perspective, when applicable, we have implemented common standard operating procedures across regions to assure consistency whenever it is feasible and appropriate to do so.

        All of our sites are also subject to licensing and regulation under national, regional and local laws relating to the surface and air transportation of laboratory specimens, the handling, storage and disposal of laboratory specimens, hazardous waste and radioactive materials, and the safety and health of laboratory employees. Although we believe we are currently in compliance in all material respects with such national, regional and local laws, failure to comply could subject us to denial of the right to conduct business, fines, criminal penalties and other enforcement actions.

        To ensure that we comply with all scientific and medical regulatory matters we are subject to, each division of our business has established an independent quality assurance group that is responsible for monitoring compliance. In compliance with GCP, we conduct our Phase I clinical trials under the supervision of an Ethics Committee and have undertaken measures to ensure the protection of personal data.

11

Corporate Governance

        We are committed to operating our business with integrity and accountability. We complied with all of the New York Stock Exchange (the "NYSE") corporate governance standards prior to their approval by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Nine of our ten Board members are independent and have no significant financial, business or personal ties to the Company or management and all of our Board committees are composed of independent directors. The Board adopted Corporate Governance Guidelines and a Code of Business Conduct and Ethics which has been communicated to employees and posted on our website. We have always been diligent in complying with established accounting principles and are committed to providing financial information that is transparent, timely and accurate. We have established a process through which employees, either directly or anonymously, can notify management (and the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors) of alleged accounting and auditing concerns or violations including fraud. We created an internal Disclosure Committee that meets regularly and adopted disclosure procedures and guidelines to help ensure that our public disclosures are accurate and timely. A copy of our Corporate Governance Guidelines and Code of Business Conduct and Ethics are available on our website at www.criver.com under the "Investors Relations—Corporate Governance" caption.

Risks Related to Our Business and Industry

        Set forth below and elsewhere in this Form 10-K and in other documents we file with the SEC are risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from the results contemplated by the forward-looking statements contained in this Form 10-K.

Our business is subject to risks relating to operating internationally.

        A significant part of our net sales is derived from operations outside the United States. Our international revenues, which include revenues from our non-U.S. subsidiaries, represented 36.3% of our total net sales in 2004, 30.8% in 2003, and 27.4% in 2002. We expect that international revenues will continue to account for a significant percentage of our revenues for the foreseeable future. There are a number of risks arising from our international business, including:

•

foreign currencies we receive for sales outside the United States could be subject to unfavorable exchange rates with the U.S. dollar and reduce the amount of revenue that we recognize;



•

general economic and political conditions in the markets in which we operate;



•

potential international conflicts, including terrorist acts;



•

potential increased costs associated with overlapping tax structures;



•

potential trade restrictions and exchange controls;



•

difficulties and costs associated with staffing and managing foreign operations;



•

unexpected changes in regulatory requirements;



•

the difficulties of compliance with a wide variety of foreign laws and regulations;



•

longer accounts receivable cycles in certain foreign countries; and



•

import and export licensing requirements.

        Our operations and financial results could be significantly affected by the above mentioned risks.

12

A reduction in research and development budgets may adversely affect our business.

        Our customers include researchers at pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. Our ability to continue to grow and win new business is dependent upon the ability and willingness of the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries to continue to spend on research and development at rates close to or at historical levels and to outsource the products and services we provide. Fluctuations in the research and development budgets of these researchers and their organizations could have a significant effect on the demand for our products and services. Research and development budgets fluctuate due to changes in available resources, mergers of pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, spending priorities and institutional budgetary policies. Our business could be adversely affected by any significant decrease in life sciences research and development expenditures by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, as well as by academic institutions, government laboratories or private foundations.

A reduction or delay in government funding of research and development may adversely affect our business.

        A portion of net sales in our RMS segment is derived from customers at academic institutions and research laboratories whose funding is partially dependent on both the level and timing of funding from government sources, such as the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH) and similar domestic and international agencies. Although the level of government research funding has increased substantially during the past several years the size of budgetary increases has recently declined. Government funding of research and development is subject to the political process, which is inherently unpredictable. Our sales may be adversely affected if our customers delay purchases as a result of uncertainties surrounding the approval of government budget proposals. Also, government proposals to reduce or eliminate budgetary deficits have sometimes included reduced allocations to the NIH and other government agencies that fund research and development activities. A reduction in government funding for the NIH or other government research agencies could adversely affect our business and our financial results.

The outsourcing trend in the preclinical and non-clinical stages of drug discovery and development may decrease, which could slow our growth.

        Some areas of our preclinical business have grown significantly as a result of the increase over the past several years in pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies outsourcing their preclinical and non-clinical research support activities. While industry analysts expect the outsourcing trend to continue for the next several years, a substantial decrease in preclinical and non-clinical outsourcing activity could result in a diminished growth rate in the sales of one or more of our expected higher-growth areas. Our customer contracts are generally terminable on little or no notice. Termination of a large contract for services or multiple contracts for services could adversely affect our sales and profitability.

        Generally, our agreements with our customers provide that the customer can terminate the agreements or reduce the scope of services under the agreements with little or no notice. Customers may elect to terminate their agreements with us for various reasons, including: unexpected or undesired study results; production problems resulting in shortages of the drug being tested; the customer's decision to forego or terminate a particular study; or the loss of funding for the particular research study. If a customer terminates a contract with us, we are entitled under the terms of the contract to receive revenue earned to date as well as certain other costs and, in some cases, penalties. Cancellation of a large contract or simultaneous cancellation of multiple contracts could materially adversely affect the Preclinical or Clinical segments' business and, therefore, may adversely affect our operating results.

13

If we are not successful in selecting and integrating the businesses and technologies we acquire, our business may suffer.

        During the past four years, we have expanded our business through several acquisitions. We plan to continue to grow our business through acquisitions of businesses and technologies and the formation of alliances. However, businesses and technologies may not be available on terms and conditions we find acceptable. Even if completed, acquisitions and alliances involve numerous risks which may include:

•

difficulties and expenses incurred in assimilating operations, services, products or technologies;



•

difficulties in developing and operating new businesses, including diversion of management's attention from other business concerns;



•

the potential loss of key employees of an acquired business and difficulties in attracting new employees to grow businesses; and



•

difficulties in achieving business and financial success.

        In the event that an acquired business or technology or an alliance does not meet expectations, our results of operations may be adversely affected. We may not be able to successfully integrate acquisitions into our existing business or successfully exploit new business or technologies.

Contaminations in our animal populations can damage our inventory, harm our reputation for contaminant-free production and result in decreased sales.

        Our research models and fertile chicken eggs must be free of contaminants such as viruses and bacteria because the presence of contaminants can distort or compromise the quality of research results. Contaminations in our isolated breeding rooms or poultry houses could disrupt our contaminant-free research model and fertile egg production, harm our reputation for contaminant-free production and result in decreased sales.

        Contaminations typically require cleaning up the contaminated room or poultry house. This clean-up results in inventory loss, clean-up and start-up costs, and reduced sales as a result of lost customer orders and credits for prior shipments. These contaminations are unanticipated and difficult to predict and could adversely impact our financial results. We have made significant capital expenditures designed to strengthen our biosecurity and have significantly improved our operating procedures to protect against such contaminations, however, contaminations may still occur.

Negative attention from special interest groups may impair our business.

        Our core research model activities with rats, mice and other rodents have not historically been the subject of animal rights media attention. However, research activities with animals have been the subject of adverse attention, particularly in the United Kingdom. This has involved on-site protests and other demonstrations at facilities operated by us, certain of our competitors, customers and suppliers. Any negative attention or threats directed against our animal research activities in the future could impair our ability to operate our business efficiently and effectively. In addition, if regulatory authorities were to mandate a significant reduction in safety testing procedures which utilize laboratory animals (as has been advocated by certain groups), our business could be materially adversely effected.

Several of our product and service offerings are dependent on a limited source of supply, which if interrupted could adversely affect our business.

        We depend on a limited international source of supply of our large animal models required in our product and service offerings. Disruptions to their continued supply may arise from colony fertility and health problems, export or import restrictions or embargoes, foreign government or economic

14

instability, severe weather conditions or contract disputes or disruptions. Any disruption of supply could harm our business if we cannot remove the disruption or are unable to secure an alternative or secondary supply source on comparable commercial terms.

Tax benefits we expect to be available in the future may be subject to challenge.

        In connection with our 1999 recapitalization, our then current shareholders, CRL Acquisition LLC (CRL Acquisition) and Bausch & Lomb Incorporated (B&L), made a joint election intended to permit us to increase the depreciable and amortizable tax basis in our assets for federal income tax purposes, thereby providing us with expected future tax benefits. In connection with our initial public offering in 2000, CRL Acquisition reorganized, terminated its existence as a corporation for tax purposes and distributed a substantial portion of its stock to its members. We believe that the reorganization and liquidating distribution should not have any impact on the election for federal income tax purposes. However, it is possible that the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) may contend that this reorganization and liquidating distribution should be integrated with our original recapitalization. If the IRS were to be successful with this contention, the expected future tax benefits at the time of the recapitalization would not be available and we would be required to write off the related deferred tax asset.

Our debt level could adversely affect our business and growth prospects.

        At December 25, 2004, we had approximately $685.8 million of debt. This debt could have significant adverse effects on our business, including making it more difficult for us to obtain additional financing on favorable terms; requiring us to dedicate a substantial portion of our cash flows from operations to the repayment of debt and the interest on this debt; limiting our ability to capitalize on significant business opportunities; and making us more vulnerable to rising interest rates.

We could be adversely affected by tax law changes in the United Kingdom or Canada.

        Our operations in the United Kingdom and Canada currently benefit from favorable corporate tax arrangements. We receive substantial tax credits in Canada from both the Canadian federal and Quebec governments and it benefits from tax credits and accelerated tax depreciation allowances in the United Kingdom. Any reduction in the availability or amount of these tax credits or allowances would be likely to have a material adverse effect on profits and cash flow from either or both of our Canadian and United Kingdom operations, and on our effective tax rate.

Impairment of goodwill arising from the acquisition of Inveresk may adversely impact future results of operations.

        Our acquisition of Inveresk was accounted for as a purchase by us under accounting principles generally accepted in the United States. Under the purchase method of accounting, the assets and liabilities of Inveresk, including identifiable intangible assets, have been recorded at their respective fair values as of the date the acquisition was completed. The excess of the purchase price over the fair value of acquired net assets and liabilities was recorded as goodwill. As a result of the combination, we have recorded $1.3 billion of additional goodwill and $0.2 billion of other intangible assets, which are material to us. The goodwill will not be amortized, but will be reviewed for impairment by us at least annually. If the future growth and operating results of the acquired businesses are not as strong as anticipated, goodwill may be impaired. To the extent goodwill is impaired, its carrying value will be written down to its implied fair value and a charge will be made to our earnings. Such an impairment charge could materially and adversely affect our operating results and financial condition.

15

Our exposure to exchange rate fluctuations could adversely affect our results of operations.

        With the acquisition of Inveresk, we derive a significant portion of our revenue from operations outside of the United States, primarily from our operations in Canada and the United Kingdom, where significant amounts of revenues and expenses are recorded in local (non-U.S.) currency. Our financial statements are presented in U.S. dollars. Accordingly, changes in currency exchange rates, particularly between the pound sterling, the Canadian dollar and the U.S. dollar, will cause fluctuations in our reported financial results, which could be material. In addition, our contracts with its foreign customers are frequently denominated in currencies other than the currency in which we incur expenses related to those contracts. This is particularly the case with respect to Inveresk's Canadian operations, where its contracts generally provide for invoicing clients in U.S. dollars but its expenses are generally incurred in Canadian dollars. Where expenses are incurred in currencies other than those in which contracts are priced, fluctuations in the relative value of those currencies could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

Contract research services create a risk of liability.

        In contracting to work on drug development trials, we face a range of potential liabilities, for example:

•

errors or omissions that create harm during a trial to study volunteers or after a trial to consumers of the drug after regulatory approval of the drug;



•

general risks associated with Phase I facilities, including negative consequences from the administration of drugs to clinical trial participants or the professional malpractice of Phase I medical care providers;



•

errors or omissions from tests conducted for the agrochemical and food industries;



•

risks that animals in our breeding facilities may be infected with diseases that may be harmful and even lethal to themselves and humans despite preventive measures contained in our company policies for the quarantine and handling of imported animals; and



•

errors and omissions during a trial that may undermine the usefulness of a trial or data from the trial.

        We also contract with physicians, also referred to as investigators, to conduct the clinical trials to test new drugs on human volunteers. These tests can create a risk of liability for personal injury or death to volunteers, resulting from negative reactions to the drugs administered or from professional malpractice by third party investigators, particularly to volunteers with life-threatening illnesses. We believe that our risks in this area are generally reduced by the contract provisions entitling us to be indemnified or entitling us to a limitation of liability; insurance maintained by our clients, investigators, and by us; and various regulatory requirements we must follow in connection with our business.

        Contractual indemnifications generally do not protect us against liability arising from certain of our own actions, such as negligence or misconduct. We could be materially and adversely affected if we were required to pay damages or bear the costs of defending any claim which is not covered by a contractual indemnification provision or in the event that a party who must indemnify us does not fulfill its indemnification obligations or which is beyond the level of our insurance coverage. There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain such insurance coverage on terms acceptable to us.

If we are unable to attract suitable investigators and volunteers for our clinical trials, our business might suffer.

        The clinical research studies we run rely upon the ready accessibility and willing participation of physician investigators and volunteer subjects. Investigators are typically located at hospitals, clinics or

16

other sites and supervise administration of the study drug to patients during the course of a clinical trial. Volunteer subjects generally include people from the communities in which the studies are conducted, including our Phase I clinic in Edinburgh, Scotland, which to date has provided a substantial pool of potential subjects for research studies. Our clinical research development business could be adversely affected if we were unable to attract suitable and willing investigators or volunteers on a consistent basis.

New technologies may be developed, validated and increasingly used in biomedical research that could reduce demand for some of our products and services.

        For many years, groups within the scientific and research communities have attempted to develop models, methods and systems that would replace or supplement the use of living animals as test subjects in biomedical research. Companies have developed several techniques that have scientific merit, especially in the area of cosmetics and household product testing, markets in which we do not market our products or services. Only a few alternative test methods in the discovery and development of effective and safe treatments for human and animal disease conditions have been validated and successfully deployed. The principal validated non-animal test system is the LAL, or endotoxin detection system, a technology which we acquired and have aggressively marketed as an alternative to testing in animals. It is our strategy to participate in some fashion with any non-animal test method as it becomes validated as a research model alternative or adjunct in our markets. However, these methods may not be available to us or we may not be successful in commercializing these methods. Even if we are successful, sales or profits from these methods may not offset reduced sales or profits from research models. Alternative research methods could decrease the need for research models, and we may not be able to develop new products effectively or in a timely manner to replace any lost sales.

We depend on key personnel and may not be able to retain these employees or recruit additional qualified personnel, which would harm our business.

        Our success depends to a significant extent on the continued services of our senior management and other members of management. James C. Foster, our Chief Executive Officer since 1992 and Chairman since 2000, has held various positions with us for 28 years. We have no employment agreement with Mr. Foster. If Mr. Foster or other members of management do not continue in their present positions, our business may suffer.

        Because of the specialized scientific nature of our business, we are highly dependent upon qualified scientific, technical and managerial personnel. While we have an excellent record of employee retention, there is still strong competition for qualified personnel in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology fields. Therefore, we may not be able to attract and retain the qualified personnel necessary for the development of our business. The loss of the services of existing personnel, as well as the failure to recruit additional key scientific, technical and managerial personnel in a timely manner, could harm our business.

Our quarterly operating results may vary, which could negatively affect the market price of our common stock.

        Our results of operations in any quarter may vary from quarter to quarter and are influenced by such factors as the number and scope of ongoing customer engagements, the commencement, postponement, completion or cancellation of customer contracts in the quarter, changes in the mix of our products and services, the extent of cost overruns, holiday patterns of our customers, budget cycles of our customers, and exchange rate fluctuations. We believe that operating results for any particular quarter are not necessarily a meaningful indication of future results. Nonetheless, fluctuations in our quarterly operating results could negatively affect the market price of our common stock.

17

Item 2. Properties

        We own and lease our facilities. We own large facilities (over 50,000 square feet) for our preclinical services businesses in the United States, Canada, Scotland and Ireland, and lease large facilities in the United States and Canada. We own large RMS facilities in the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, and the United States. We lease large facilities for our Clinical Services business in Canada and the United States None of our leases are individually material to our business operations and many have an option to renew. We believe that we will be able to successfully renew expiring leases on terms satisfactory to us. We believe that our facilities are adequate for our operations and that suitable additional space will be available when needed. For additional information see Note 8 to the Consolidated Financial Statements included elsewhere in this Form 10-K.

Item 3. Legal Proceedings

        We are not a party to any material legal proceedings, other than ordinary routine litigation incidental to our business that is not material to our business or financial condition.

Item 4. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders

        At a Special Meeting of Shareholders held on October 20, 2004, the following proposals were adopted by the votes specified below:

        (a)   A proposal to adopt the Agreement and Plan of Merger dated as of June 30, 2004, as amended, by and among the Company, Inveresk Research Group, Inc., Indigo Merger I Corp. and Indigo Merger II LLC and approve the transaction contemplated by the merger agreement:

        (b)   A proposal to approve an adjournment of the special meeting, if necessary, to solicit additional proxies in favor of the adoption of the merger agreement and approval of the transaction:

Supplementary Item. Executive Officers of the Registrant pursuant to Instruction 3 to Item 401(b) of Regulation S-K.

        Below are the names, ages and principal occupations for the last five years of each our current executive officers. All such persons have been elected to serve until their successors are elected and qualified or until their earlier resignation or removal.

        Joanne P. Acford, age 49, joined us in November 2004 as Corporate Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. Prior to joining us, Ms. Acford held a number of positions over 20 years at John Hancock Financial Services, Inc., most recently as Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel. Previously, Ms. Acford was an associate in the Corporate Department at Hale and Dorr.

18

        Thomas F. Ackerman, age 50, joined us in 1988 with over eleven years of combined public accounting and international finance experience. He was named Controller, North America in 1992 and became our Vice President and Chief Financial Officer in 1996. In 1999, he was named a Senior Vice President. He is currently responsible for overseeing our Accounting and Finance Department and several other corporate staff departments. Prior to joining us, Mr. Ackerman was an accountant at Arthur Andersen & Co.

        Brian Bathgate, age 45, joined us in October 2004 with the acquisition of Inveresk. He is a Corporate Vice President and President, European Preclinical. He served as President of Inveresk's Preclinical Europe operations since April 2001. Dr. Bathgate served as General Manager of Inveresk Research International Limited from 1996 until April 2001, responsible for all activities relating to the European preclinical business.

        James C. Foster, age 54, joined us in 1976 as General Counsel. Over the past 28 years, Mr. Foster has held various staff and managerial positions, and was named our President in 1991, Chief Executive Officer in 1992 and our Chairman in 2000.

        Jörg M. Geller, age 50, joined us in 1986 as a production manager in our animal production facility in Germany and has had various management positions since then. In 1994, Mr. Geller became Vice President, Charles River Europe, responsible for our activities in Germany and Northern and Eastern Europe. In 1997, Mr. Geller assumed responsibility for our avian production unit (SPAFAS) and in 2003 was named a Corporate Vice President.

        Nancy A. Gillett, age 49, joined us in 1999 with the acquisition of Sierra Biomedical. Dr. Gillett has 20 years of experience as an ACVP board certified pathologist and scientific manager. In 1999, she became Senior Vice President and General Manager of our Sierra Biomedical division with responsibilities for Sierra's ongoing business operations. In 2002, Dr. Gillett became interim Corporate Vice President of Discovery and Development Services and President and General Manager of Sierra Biomedical, overseeing operations for our Argus Laboratories, PAI, Redfield Laboratories, Springborn Laboratories and Worcester Laboratories divisions. In 2003, Dr. Gillett became Corporate Vice President and General Manager of Drug Discovery and Development. In 2004, Dr. Gillett became Corporate Senior Vice President and President, Global Preclinical Services.

        David P. Johst, age 43, joined us in 1991 as Corporate Counsel and was named Vice President, Human Resources in 1995. He became Vice President, Human Resources and Administration in 1996, and a Senior Vice President in 1999. He is responsible for overseeing our Human Resources department, our consulting and staffing services business unit and several other corporate staff departments. Prior to joining the Company, Mr. Johst was an associate in the Corporate Department at Hale and Dorr.

        Real H. Renaud, age 57, joined us in 1964 and has over 40 years of research models production and related management experience. In 1986, Mr. Renaud became Vice President of Production, with responsibility for overseeing the Company's North American small animal operations, and was named Vice President, Worldwide Production in 1990. Mr. Renaud became Vice President and General Manager, European and North American Animal Operations in 1996, following a two-year European assignment during which he provided direct oversight to our European operations. In 1999, he became a Senior Vice President and in 2003, Mr. Renaud became Executive Vice President and General Manager, Global Research Models and Services.

19

PART II

Item 5. Market for Registrant's Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases Of Equity Securities

        Our common stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on June 23, 2000 under the symbol "CRL." The following table sets forth for the periods indicated below closing prices for our common stock, as reported on the NYSE Composite Tape.

        There were no equity securities that were not registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, sold by the Company during the fiscal year ended December 25, 2004.

Shareholders

        As of March 1, 2005, there were approximately 174 registered shareholders of the outstanding shares of common stock.

Dividends

        We have not declared or paid any cash dividends on shares of our common stock in the past two years, except to our former parent companies, and we do not intend to pay cash dividends in the foreseeable future. We currently intend to retain any earnings to finance future operations and expansion. Some of the restrictive covenants contained in our revolving credit agreement and term loan agreement limit our ability to pay dividends.

20

Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans

        The following table summarizes, as of December 25, 2004, the number of options issued under the Company's stock option plans and the number of options available for future issuance under these plans.

21

Item 6. Selected Consolidated Financial Data

        The following table presents our selected consolidated financial data and other data as of and for the fiscal years ended December 25, 2004, December 27, 2003, December 28, 2002, December 29, 2001 and December 30, 2000. The Statement of Income Data and Other Data for the fiscal years ended December 25, 2004, December 27, 2003 and December 28, 2002, and the Balance Sheet Data at December 25, 2004 and December 27, 2003 have been derived from the audited consolidated financial statements for such years, included elsewhere in this Form 10-K. The Statement of Income Data and Other Data for the fiscal years ended December 29, 2001 and December 30, 2000 and the Balance Sheet Data at December 28, 2002, December 29, 2001 and December 30, 2000 have been derived from the audited consolidated financial statements for such years not included in this Form 10-K. You should read the selected consolidated financial data contained in this table in conjunction with "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" and our consolidated financial statements and the related notes.