National Cancer Institute Ends Md. Lab Mice Deal
FREDERICK, Md. (AP) -- The National Cancer Institute is terminating its contract with a Frederick, Md. supplier of hundreds of thousands of genetically engineered laboratory mice.
The Frederick News-Post reported Friday that the agency says its $34 million contract with Charles River Laboratories International Inc. will end Sept. 25.
An NCI spokeswoman says the decision reflects an external policy change. She says the federal agency will obtain rodents from other sources and in-house breeding.
Wilmington, Massachusetts-based Charles River opened the Frederick facility in 2008. The company says the Frederick operation may shift to supplying animals directly to clients instead of providing them through the National Cancer Institute.
The facility supplied researchers with more than a million rodents last year.
(Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)