Pfizer opens equine research center

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Pfizer Animal Health has opened a research farm solely dedicated to horse health.

The Equine Research Center in Richland, Mich.—a $7 million investment—will serve as Pfizer's worldwide hub for research and development of equine vaccines and novel therapeutics. It builds on the $75 million investment in the renovation and expansion of Pfizer's veterinary medicine research and development headquarters in Kalamazoo, Mich., completed in 2009.

According to a Nov. 8 Pfizer press release, the center adds 24,000 square feet of research laboratory space as well as paddock and pasture facilities. It will support the work of a multidisciplinary team of scientists and specialists working to provide horse owners and the veterinarians who support them with innovative health solutions.

"Horses, like humans, are vulnerable to new outbreaks of prevalent illnesses such as (those caused by) equine influenza virus and Streptococcus equi as well as to emerging diseases such as hendra virus (infection)," said Dr. D. Paul Lunn, incoming dean of the North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, in the press release. "The Pfizer Equine Research Center will help answer the urgent imperative for much-needed innovation to help horses live longer, healthier lives."

Mahesh Kumar, PhD, executive director of global biologics research at Pfizer, will lead the vaccine development program at the site.