DUBLIN, Ohio — Cardinal Health Inc. said Tuesday that it has completed the spin-off of its Clinical and Medical Products business, now a new public company called CareFusion Corp.

As of Tuesday, CareFusion common stock began trading under the symbol "CFN" on the New York Stock Exchange.

The pharmaceutical and health care products distributor said the appointment of George Barrett as chairman and chief executive officer of Cardinal Health also became effective August 31 upon completion of the spin-off.

In addition, the resignations of Philip Francis, Michael Losh and Michael O’Halleran from the Cardinal Health board became effective with the completion of the spin-off. The company said all three will transition to the CareFusion board.

And as previously announced, the new Cardinal Health board will consist of 10 members, including two new directors: Bruce Downey, effective August 31, and Glenn Britt, effective October 1.

"The completion of the CareFusion spin-off marks a new day for Cardinal Health," Barrett said in a statement. "We are focused on our role in helping make health care more cost-effective and our commitment to improving shareholder value."

With the spin-off now done, Cardinal Health said it expects to benefit from enhanced management focus and sharper strategic vision, as well as improved opportunities to make investments in growth areas.

Last month, Cardinal Health reported a 9% year-over-year revenue gain, to $99.51 billion, for its 2009 fiscal year ended June 30. Net earnings, however, fell 11% to $1.15 billion, or $3.18 per diluted share.

The Clinical and Medical Products segment posted sales of $4.59 billion and a profit of $670 million in fiscal 2009.

Looking beyond the CareFusion spin-off, Cardinal Health management expressed optimism and slightly raised the company’s fiscal 2010 earnings guidance when reporting the latest financial results.

"The progress we made in fiscal 2009 reinforces our belief that the company’s core businesses are strong and the investments we are making in fiscal 2010 will create a more positive and sustainable longer-term growth trajectory," Barrett commented.

About a week after reporting fiscal 2009 results, Cardinal Health also announced a cash tender offer to buy up to $1.2 billion of its long-term debt, including notes from Cardinal Health and its Allegiance Corp. subsidiary.

The company said the move is part of a plan to reduce debt after the CareFusion spin-off. Conditions to the offer included the completion of the spin-off and Cardinal Health subsequently receiving about $1.4 billion in cash from CareFusion.