Pfizer Inc. plans to invest $600 million in its venture capital arm, Pfizer Ventures, the company announced early Wednesday. The company also plans to expand its venture capital efforts and its team. Pfizer will add five new members to the venture investing team and consolidate its research and development equity investment vehicle with Pfizer Venture Investments. Pfizer Ventures plans to invest about a quarter of its $150 million in available capital in early-stage neuroscience companies, with a focus on neuro-degeneration, neuro-inflammation and neuro-metabolic disorders, for example. Pfizer Ventures is also interested in areas like oncology, inflammation and immunology, rare disease, internal medicine and vaccines, and technologies that aid the drug development process. Pfizer shares lifted 0.3% in premarket trade. Shares have risen 1.4% month-to-date, compared with a 1.6% rise in the S&P 500 and a 1.6% rise in the Dow Jones Industrial Average