Zoetis Inc. announced the appointment of Robert J. Polzer, PhD, as Executive Vice President and President of Research & Development for the company, effective Jan. 1, 2022. Polzer currently serves as Senior Vice President of Global Therapeutics for Zoetis and joined the company in 2015 after spending more than 20 years in R&D leadership roles at Pfizer. Polzer will become a member of the Zoetis Executive team and report to Chief Executive Officer Kristin Peck. Polzer will succeed current EVP and President of R&D, Dr. Catherine Knupp, DVM, MS, who will remain head of R&D through the end of the year. Knupp plans to retire after a remarkable career of building the organizational talent and capabilities that have made Zoetis the innovative leader in animal health. Zoetis holds the position as the most productive R&D organization in the animal health industry, introducing more than 1,100 new products and lifecycle innovations over the last five years. Zoetis’ R&D investment strategy and approach has enabled it to build a diverse and durable portfolio across the continuum of animal care – from prediction and prevention to detection and treatment. Based on its track record of innovation, Zoetis has one-third of the industry’s blockbuster product lines and has a rich pipeline of future innovations. In this role, Polzer will have responsibility for the company’s global R&D organization and regulatory affairs, overseeing the company’s discovery and development pipeline across a diverse set of therapeutic areas, including medicines, vaccines and genetics as well as diagnostics and biodevices for use in animal health.