Charles River Labs reduced its 2008 profit guidance by 3% because its CRO clients are delaying scheduled tests until next year. The trend caused a small slowing of the company’s growth rate in Q3, but the effect in Q4 will be more pronounced, according to the company. Charles River operates worldwide. It identified its Edinburgh facility as the site suffering the biggest downturn, indicating that Europe is leading the trend toward delaying drug development outlays, though the company considers the slowdown a worldwide phenomenon.  More details...

Stock Symbol: (NYSE: CRL)