Healthcare
Diagnostics & Research
$9.69B
22K
Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. provides drug discovery, non-clinical development, and safety testing services in the United States, Europe, Canada, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Research Models and Services (RMS), Discovery and Safety Assessment (DSA), and Manufacturing Solutions (Manufacturing). The RMS segment produces and sells rodents, and purpose-bred rats and mice for use by researchers. This segment also provides a range of services to assist its clients in supporting the use of research models in research and screening pre-clinical drug candidates, including research models, genetically engineered models and services, insourcing solutions, and research animal diagnostic services. The DSA segment offers early and in vivo discovery services for the identification and validation of novel targets, chemical compounds, and antibodies through delivery of preclinical drug and therapeutic candidates ready for safety assessment; and safety assessment services, such as toxicology, pathology, safety pharmacology, bioanalysis, drug metabolism, and pharmacokinetics services. The Manufacturing segment provides in vitro methods for conventional and rapid quality control testing of sterile and non-sterile pharmaceuticals and consumer products. This segment also offers specialized testing of biologics that are outsourced by pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies. It also provides contract vivarium operation services to biopharmaceutical clients. The company was founded in 1947 and is headquartered in Wilmington, Massachusetts.
Key insights and themes extracted from this filing
The 2023 revenue reached $4.1 billion, an increase of $153.3 million, or 3.9%, compared to the previous year. This growth was primarily attributed to increased volume and pricing within the Safety Assessment business, as well as the recent acquisition of Explora BioLabs.
Operating income margin decreased from 16.4% to 14.9% due to higher operating costs within the Manufacturing segment, restructuring and asset impairment charges, and the divestiture of the Avian business.
Net income attributable to common shareholders decreased to $474.6 million, primarily due to lower operating income and higher interest expense, partially offset by lower income tax expense.
The company is focused on strategic outsourcing to improve efficiency and access capabilities. Many of our large biopharmaceutical clients have continued to increase investments in their drug discovery and early-stage development efforts and have strengthened their relationships with outsourced partners, like Charles River.
The company completed the acquisition of an additional 41% equity interest of Noveprim Group (“Noveprim”), a leading provider of non-human primates (“NHPs”) used for biomedical, pharmaceutical and toxicological research purposes, resulting in a 90% controlling interest. The acquisition strengthens and diversifies the supply chain for our DSA segment.
The company intends to continue to broaden the scope of the products and services that we provide across the drug discovery and non-clinical development continuum primarily through internal development, and, as needed, through focused acquisitions and partnerships.
In response to recent trends, we have undertaken restructuring actions within all reportable segments at various locations across North America, Europe and Asia. This includes workforce right-sizing actions, resulting in severance and transition costs; and costs related to the consolidation of facilities, resulting in asset impairment and accelerated depreciation charges.
We believe the healthcare industry is at a unique inflection point post COVID, where vaccines and treatments were developed in record time, and there is increasing focus on personalized medicine and rare diseases. As the industry evolves, technology is playing an essential role.
In 2016, Ms. Girshick was tasked with leading the integration of WIL Research into our Safety Assessment business. Also, in 2016, Ms. Girshick assumed the role of Corporate Senior Vice President, Global Discovery Services.
Several of our product and service offerings, including our non-human primate supply, are dependent on a limited source of supply that, when interrupted, adversely affects our business.
We bear financial risk for contracts that may be terminated or reduced in scope, underpriced, subject to cost overruns or delays.
We have in the past experienced and in the future could experience unauthorized access into our information systems.
The industries in which we operate are highly competitive. We compete for business with other non-clinical drug development partners and blood product and therapeutic services companies, other CDMOs, as well as internal discovery and development departments within our larger clients, who may have greater resources than ours.
Our goal is to be a leader in each of the markets in which we participate. We compete in the marketplace on the basis of our therapeutic and scientific expertise in early-stage drug research, quality, reputation, flexibility, responsiveness, pricing, innovation and global capabilities.
We also face competition from the internal discovery and development resources of our clients.
Upgrading and integrating our business systems could result in implementation issues and business disruptions.
Flexible and Customized Environment to Provide the Right Solutions. Each of our clients is different, with unique needs and specific requirements. We understand the importance of flexibility, and leverage the expertise embedded in our integrated, non-clinical portfolio to provide customized solutions tailored to the specific need or therapeutic area for a particular client.
Costs increasing more rapidly than market prices could reduce profitability. The cost of collecting, processing and testing products has risen significantly in recent years and will likely continue to increase given stringency of demands on raw materials.
New technologies may be developed, validated and increasingly used in biomedical research, which could reduce demand for some of our products and services.
Digital Enhancements. We believe the healthcare industry is at a unique inflection point post COVID, where vaccines and treatments were developed in record time, and there is increasing focus on personalized medicine and rare diseases. As the industry evolves, technology is playing an essential role.
Intellectual property rights, in the form of know-how, trade secrets, patents, trademarks, copyrights, and others are important to us and are valuable to our ability to provide significant benefits to our clients.
Mergers, acquisitions, and partnerships remain one of our top, long-term priorities for disciplined capital deployment and enhancing growth strategy with focus on enhancing the breadth of our scientific capabilities, expanding our global scale, and maintaining our leadership position in advanced and emerging therapies.
Since we do not expect to pay any cash dividends for the foreseeable future, our shareholders will benefit from an investment in our common stock only if it appreciates in value.
Our clients' R&D needs continue to evolve. These clients are increasingly emphasizing studies that have greater translation to the clinic so that they can make appropriate decisions regarding the progression of potential therapeutic entities earlier in the development process.
We are committed to being the worldwide leader in the humane care of research animals and implementation of the “4Rs” initiative (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement, and Responsibility).
We are also committed to cultivating a welcoming and inclusive environment where every employee can succeed and thrive. Operating in 155 sites and in over 20 countries worldwide (excluding our Insourcing Solutions sites), we believe in treating our employees and prospective talent with dignity, decency, and respect.
Increasing focus on environmental, social and governance matters may impact our business, financial results or stock price.
Ongoing uncertainties as a result of instability or changes in geopolitical conditions, including terrorist acts or military or political conflicts, such as those caused by the ongoing conflicts between Russia and Ukraine or Israel and Hamas (the potential escalation or geographic expansion of which could heighten other risks identified in this report).
Global biopharmaceutical companies are continuing to make the decision to outsource more significant tranches of their drug discovery, development and manufacturing processes.
We believe the healthcare industry is at a unique inflection point post COVID, where vaccines and treatments were developed in record time, and there is increasing focus on personalized medicine and rare diseases.