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Pfizer spinning off animal health division

About 750 Pfizer employees in Kalamazoo are going to have a new boss.

Pfizer announced today it's spinning its “animal health” division off into its own company.

The new company’s name will be Zoetis. An odd, though appropriate name for the company. The Z-O in Zoetis is supposed to stand for ZOO, or zoetic, which means "pertaining to life".

Pfizer’s animal health division is a major employer in Kalamazoo. Damien Conover expects that will stay the same under the new company. Conover is an analyst with Morningstar Financial.

“There’s probably going to be some consolidation with the new business,” says Conover,  “but for the most part I’m not anticipating a big shakeup of the business.”

Conover expects Zoetis will be worth more than eleven billion dollars. That would make it the largest stand-alone company focused on animal pharmaceuticals in the world.

Steve Carmody has been a reporter for Michigan Public since 2005. Steve previously worked at public radio and television stations in Florida, Oklahoma and Kentucky, and also has extensive experience in commercial broadcasting.
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