By Sam Boughedda
Shares of Laboratory Corporation of America Holdings (NYSE:LH) and Charles River Laboratories (NYSE:CRL) dipped Wednesday in relation to the ability of the companies to obtain Cambodia-sourced non-human primates.
The concerns relate to a November 16 announcement by the U.S. Department of Justice that a Cambodian NHP supplier and two Cambodian officials had been criminally charged in connection with illegally importing NHPs into the United States.
Charles River Laboratories commented on the topic in an SEC filing today, suggesting the supply of Cambodia-sourced NHPs will be difficult to obtain in the United States "for some time." They made the statement in light of the indictment and subsequent statements made by the Cambodian government.
However, CRL made clear that it was not named or referenced in the DOJ proceedings and does not have any direct supply contracts with the indicted Cambodian supplier.
If it is the case that NHPs will be difficult to obtain in the U.S. for some time, then Labcorp could also be impacted.
Labcorp shares are currently down 2.74%, while CRL has declined 7.5%.
CRL added that it is currently working to mitigate any Cambodia NHP supply impact with efforts to procure NHPs under different supply arrangements.