Steere was strongly devoted to making Pfizer the number one pharmaceutical company in the United States. His first task at the pharmaceutical company was to cut the 40% of its business that was unrelated to what was considered its core drugs. Pouring money into Pfizer’s large, but focused research programs, Steere led Pfizer to become the number three pharmaceutical maker for human medicines, with strong presence in treatments for aging and related diseases, as well as the world leader in animal health products.