I. Introduction
This Privacy Notice applies to the processing of personal data controlled by Charles River Laboratories International, Inc. and its subsidiaries and affiliates (collectively, “Charles River Laboratories”, “we”, “our”, or “us”).
We understand that various laws and regulations around the world govern personal data protection, and we respect the fact that protecting your privacy is important to you. Charles River Laboratories has set up an internal privacy governance structure to ensure that the privacy of individuals who interact with us is respected throughout the organization. Please read this Privacy Notice (“Notice”) to learn about how and why we collect, use, share, and protect your personal data.
The handling of your personal data is subject to the then-current version of this Notice, so we urge you to read this Notice in full from time to time. Feel free to contact us using the contact details below if you have any questions.
II. Who We Are
Charles River Laboratories provides a variety of pre-clinical and clinical laboratory services for the pharmaceutical, medical device, and biotechnology industries. Currently, we operate in over twenty countries, with our corporate headquarters located in Wilmington, Massachusetts, USA. For more information about us, please click here.
III. What Personal Data We Collect
Information You Give Us
We may receive the following categories of personal data from you:
- Your contact or business contact information (such as your name, email, address, and job role);
- Sales information (such as order and offer history);
- Tradeshow related information;
- Your contact preferences;
- Your correspondence with us, and
- In some cases, your payment information (insofar this data relates to you as an individual and not to a business).
Please find more information about the purposes for which we may process your personal data in Section IV.
Automatically Collected Information
We may also automatically collect certain types of information whenever you interact with us on our websites and through e-mails that we send to you (e.g., a receipt of confirmation or whether you clicked on the link to our website).
The information we collect may include information derived from web server logs (a log file of activities performed that is created and maintained by a server), Internet Protocol (“IP”) addresses, information collected via cookies and web beacons (for example data that is generated by the functionalities you use on our website, pages you visited on our website (URLs requested), your click and surf behavior, and the length of your session).
Please find more information about how we may collect personal data via cookies and web beacons in Section XII.
IV. How We Use Your Personal Data
Charles River Laboratories processes the categories of personal data set out in Section III for various purposes. The overview below sets out these purposes, together with the categories of personal data that are processed for each purpose and the legal bases upon which we process personal data for that purpose.
When You Interact with Charles River Laboratories
If you get in touch with us, for example via the contact form on our website or through other Charles River Laboratories platforms, we will use your personal data in order to reply to and answer your questions and requests.
For this purpose, we process your contact or business contact information, sales information, tradeshow related information, and in some cases, your payment information and other personal data that you shared in your correspondence with us or are necessary to answer your question.
We process this data on the basis of our legitimate interest to be able to handle your questions and requests.
For the Development and Improvement of Products, Services, and Website
We process your personal data in order to assess, analyze, and improve our products, services, and websites.
This means that we can monitor user patterns and preferences; for example, analyze how often you read our newsletters or how often you visit our website and which pages you click on. We also collect data in our web server logs for monitoring system performance, for information security purposes, and for troubleshooting purposes.
For this purpose, we process automatically collected information as explained in Section III.
We process this data on the basis of our legitimate interest in order to ensure that we constantly develop and improve our products, services, and website. Where required, we will ask your consent for such processing.
To Provide You Products and Services and to Administer Our Relationship
When you choose to buy our products or use our services, we will process the personal data you submit in order to deliver and administer our products and/or services. When you work with us as a supplier or business partner, we may process your personal data for administrative purposes, such as sending invoices. We may use your personal data for customer relationship or account management, or to help with sales and customer service
For this purpose, we process your contact or business contact information, sales information, and in some cases payment information.
We process this data for the performance of our contract with you and on the basis of our legitimate interest to administer and maintain the relationship you have with us.
For Marketing and Events
We may also process your personal data for marketing purposes or for events. In such cases, we will process personal data for direct marketing communications, business development, lead generation, event management, market research or surveys and for education, training and continuing education, or accreditation.
For this purpose, we process your contact or business contact information, contact preferences, sales information, tradeshow related information, and correspondence with us.
We process this data on the basis of our legitimate interest in order to conduct sales, marketing, and event-related activities. Where required, we will, before sending you any direct marketing communications, ask for your consent.
V. Retention
Charles River Laboratories retains your personal data only for as long as strictly necessary for the purposes previously mentioned or to satisfy legal requirements. We have set retention periods for personal data in line with our internal data retention policy.
In some cases, laws and regulations that apply to our business may require us to retain personal data in line with legal retention periods.
VI. Information Security
We have taken commercially reasonable steps to ensure the confidentiality and security of your personal data. We have implemented appropriate technical, physical, and organizational measures to protect your personal data against accidental or unlawful destruction or accidental loss, damage, alteration, unauthorised disclosure, or access. We have also taken measures to prevent unlawful processing (including, but not limited to, unnecessary collection) or further processing. Examples are (IT) security policies, staff training, and through designing internal procedures in line with privacy by design and default.
VII. Your Choices and Rights
You have a number of rights, subject to certain conditions and exceptions. These rights include:
- The right to an overview or copy of your personal data processed by us;
- The right to require us to correct any mistakes in your personal data which we hold;
- The right to erasure of personal data;
- The right to restrict our processing of your personal data in certain circumstances;
- The right to receive the personal data which you have provided to us, in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format;
- The right to object at any time to processing of your personal data, including for the purposes of profiling and direct marketing; and
- The right to revoke given consent, where we process your personal data based on your consent (without affecting the lawfulness of processing based on consent before revocation).
We have created an online platform through which you can easily make use of your rights. If you would like to exercise your rights under applicable privacy and data protection laws, please click here.
If you have opted in for particular services or communications, such as our newsletter, you will be able to unsubscribe at any time by following the instructions included in each communication.
VIII. Data Transfers
Internally
Personal data may be stored and processed in any country where we have facilities or provide services in order to achieve the purposes set out in this Notice. For data transfers from the European Economic Area (EEA) to countries outside the EEA, Charles River Laboratories entities operate under EU Standard Contractual Clauses, which provide safeguards for such third country transfers.
Externally
We may share personal data about you with third parties, such as our business partners, service providers, and/or vendors who help us execute our business. We have processes in place to assess third parties with whom we share your personal data.
We may also disclose your personal data for the purpose of a merger or acquisition; or when needed for corporate audits or to investigate or respond to a complaint or security threat.
When third parties are given access to your personal data in line with the above, we take required contractual, technical and organizational measures to ensure that your personal data are processed securely and only to the extent that such processing is legitimate and necessary for the defined purposes.
If your personal data are transferred to a third party located in a country that does not provide an adequate level of protection for personal data, we will take the required measures to ensure that your personal data are adequately safeguarded.
Additionally, note that we may disclose your personal data to respond to lawful requests of government or law enforcement agencies, or where required by applicable laws, court orders, or government regulations. We will always verify whether and to what extent we are legally required to comply with such requests.
Charles River Laboratories does not sell or otherwise transfer personal data you provide to us to any third party for their own direct or commercial use unless we provide clear notice to you and obtain your consent for your personal data to be shared in this manner.
IX. Links to Other Websites
Our websites may contain links to third party websites that may offer useful information to our visitors. Please be aware that this Notice does not apply to processing of personal data by those third party websites. We recommend communicating with such parties directly for information on their respective privacy notice.
X. Children Under 18
Our websites, products, and services are not intended or designed to attract, or engage with, children under the age of 18. Where personal data from a child under the age of 18 is knowingly collected, we will, to the extent required by applicable laws, collect the explicit consent for such processing from the legal guardian of the child.
XI. Specific Notices
Charles River Laboratories has set up specific notices which address the collection and processing of personal data from specific data subject categories (such as our employees, business contacts, or contractors).
When you interact with us and we identify you as an individual from any of these categories, we will share the relevant notice with you.
XII. Cookie Notice
What are cookies and similar techniques?
Cookies are small text files containing small amounts of information which are downloaded to (or read off of) your device when you visit a website through, for example, the browser of your computer, tablet, or smartphone. This small text file enables data (potentially including personal data) to be stored. These (personal) data allow for you to be identified when you visit our website at a later moment in time.
JavaScripts and web beacons are examples of similar techniques that, in combination with cookies, enable a system to collect information (JavaScripts), store this information in small and simple text files (cookies), and subsequently transmit them (web beacons).
All of these techniques are further collectively referred to as “cookies and similar techniques” or “cookies”.
What do we do with cookies?
We use cookies and similar techniques to process personal data for various purposes. Whenever you provide consent, cookies and similar techniques are used to, among other things, show you advertisements and other relevant information about topics of interest to you, to carry out campaign analysis, and to approach target audiences.
We also use cookies for functional or essential technical purposes and purely analytical purposes that have a very limited impact on your privacy. For these cookies, consent is not required as they have little to no privacy implications. For example, we use web beacons to help analyze the effectiveness of websites by measuring the number of visitors to a site or how many visitors clicked on key elements of a site.
We take privacy seriously and will only store the information collected via cookies (which may contain personal data) for as long as necessary for the purposes for which the cookies are used.
What types of cookies do we use?
Our website uses different types of cookies.
Required Cookies
These cookies are essential to enable the basic features of the site to function, such as language and preference settings, providing secure log-in, allowing images to load, or allowing selection of cookie preferences.
Functional Cookies
These cookies allow for analysis of site usage to evaluate and improve the performance of the website. They may be used to recognize and count the number of website visitors, to see how visitors navigate the website and to record which content users view. This information can be helpful for determining the frequency of visits to a particular web page and for determining clicks on content to understand the most popular areas of a website.
Advertising Cookies
These cookies are used to show advertisements to website visitors that are relevant to them. For these types of cookies, we ask for consent from the website visitor.
These cookies may be used to track a website visitor’s activity across multiple websites and domains. These cookies are often third-party cookies which are not always solely controlled by us. For example, advertising cookies may be used to share data with advertisers to make advertisements more relevant or to allow the website visitor to share certain pages with social networks. For more information on processing by third parties, we would refer you to the applicable third-party cookie notice.
How can you update preferences or delete cookies?
After you accept or decline cookies on your first visit to our website through our cookie banner, you can subsequently update your preferences by clicking on Cookie Preferences at the bottom of this browser window.
You can also update your browser settings to block cookies, receive a notification at the same moment when a cookie is placed on your device, or to delete all stored cookies on your device. These changes can be implemented through your browser settings (often found under “Help” or “Internet Options”). Please see the relevant link below for more information specific to your selected browser type:
Please note that if your browser is not set to accept certain cookies from our website, the use of our website’s functionalities can be limited.
For more information about third-party cookies and your opt-out options, please see https://www.youronlinechoices.eu or https://www.aboutads.info/choices.
XIII. Notification of Changes to this Notice
This Notice may be amended from time to time. The most up-to-date Notice is published on our website. If there are substantial changes made to this Notice, we will provide clear communication of those changes on our website.
This Notice was last updated: 8 September 2021.
XIV. Questions or Complaints
Should you have any question about this Notice or about the way your personal data are processed by Charles River Laboratories, or if you have a complaint, please use the contact details below to contact us.
If you have a request or complaint, please use our contact details below first. Should your request or complaint not be handled accordingly by us, you have the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. Please contact your local data protection authority through the contact details on their website.
XV. Contact Details
Corporate Privacy Team
Charles River Laboratories
251 Ballardvale Street
Wilmington, MA 01887
USA
Telephone: +1 781-222-6000
Fax: 978-988-5665
Email: [email protected]
Data Protection Officer
Considerati DPO Services B.V.
Postbus 76949
1070 KE Amsterdam
The Netherlands
Email: [email protected]