Moody's may cut Amgen

Moody's Investors Service said it placed A2 long-term and Prime-1 short-term ratings of Amgen Inc. under review for possible downgrade.

Moody's said its last rating action on Amgen was a revision in the outlook to negative from stable on May 23, 2007.

This rating action follows the recent recommendation by an FDA advisory panel to place additional oncology-related restrictions on the use of erythropoietin-stimulating agents, including Amgen's Aranesp, the agency said.

According to Moody's, other factors prompting the rating review include: (1) concern that Amgen's late-stage pipeline is highly reliant on denosumab, (2) the likelihood that competitive pressures will exacerbate in the next several years from new branded biotechnology products as well as follow-on biologics in Europe and (3) Amgen's past history of share repurchases and acquisitions that have stressed its key credit ratios.

© 2015 Prospect News.
All content on this website is protected by copyright law in the U.S. and elsewhere. For the use of the person downloading only.
Redistribution and copying are prohibited by law without written permission in advance from Prospect News.
Redistribution or copying includes e-mailing, printing multiple copies or any other form of reproduction.