CSU, Zoetis leaders herald launch of new research lab

FORT COLLINS -- Officials from Zoetis, the world’s leading animal health company, and Colorado State University gathered on CSU’s Foothills Campus to celebrate the collaborative opening of a new lab. 

The 3,000-square-foot Zoetis Incubator Research Lab is located at the Research Innovation Center. Scientists in this lab will explore the livestock immune system and target new immunotherapies, paving the way for new alternatives to antibiotics for treating illnesses in food-producing animals.

At the Jan. 28 event, CSU President Joyce McConnell described the new partnership as “extraordinary.” Having Zoetis researchers on campus and in the same facilities as university scientists offers the opportunity for people to “collaborate, collide and catalyze,” she said.

Kristin Peck, CEO of Zoetis, said her team was struck by the spirit of collaboration at CSU, from the start.

“This partnership has been growing over a number of years,” she said. “We are excited about the new research incubator, and other ways we can collaborate.”

The Zoetis team will explore the livestock immune system and target new immunotherapies, which are essential to healthier animals and a healthier, more sustainable future.

Alan Rudolph, CSU VP for research, said it is an historic partnership for the university.

“We have never had a company co-locate on our campus,” he said.

Cathy Knupp, executive VP of research and development at Zoetis, said that through her talks with CSU leaders, the approach in the lab will be to incubate ideas and innovation, with an objective to accelerate outcomes to get to solutions that matter.

“We are here to start a bold experiment,” she said. “We want to fulfill a mission to provide our customers with real solutions across the continuum of care.”

In his remarks, Mayor Wade Troxell acknowledged that Fort Collins is a place for invention.

“We’re very curious about real solutions that make an impact,” he said.