PetScreen Inc., the U.S. subsidiary of an animal health care company based in Britain, will move into the MU Life Science Business Incubator in December, according to PetScreen Ltd. co-founder Kevin Slater.

Tariq Shah will be the chief executive officer of the local laboratory, which will also function as the entire company’s research and development headquarters. The company is moving some laboratory equipment from its facility in BioCity Nottingham to the Columbia lab, according to Jake Halliday, president of the Missouri Innovation Center, which operates the incubator.

Shah will hire a lab director and lab technicians. PetScreen said in February that it planned to create more than 30 jobs in Columbia over the next five years.

PetScreen focuses on developing novel detection and treatment tools for the major diseases related to aging in dogs and cats, such as cancer and renal disease. The company plans to use the incubator as laboratory space to conduct cancer detection tests.

The Missouri Technology Corp. agreed in January to lend PetScreen $250,000 to help with start-up costs, and the terms were agreed upon this month, Halliday said.