Pfizer's animal health unit, Zoetis, soars in IPO

Among its innovations, as part of Pfizer, the company created an injectable medicine for common bacterial skin infections in dogs and cats, Alaix said in an interview. The one shot spared pet owners the chore of forcing pills down the throat of their dog or cat three times a day, often for weeks, as required with older drugs. It also developed the first Lyme disease vaccine for dogs and a new vaccine to combat Hendra virus, which infects horses and can be transferred to humans.

Like Pfizer and other makers of medicines for people, Zoetis plans to expand in emerging markets such as China to increase growth.

Zoetis is currently based in Madison, N.J., at a campus shared with other Pfizer businesses, but Alaix said it will relocate at some point within New Jersey.

Pfizer shares rose 35 cents, or 1.3 percent, to end at $27.63.

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AP Business Writer Tom Murphy in Indianapolis contributed to this story.