Fitch rates Pfizer debt A+

Fitch Ratings said it assigned an A+ rating to Pfizer Inc.'s $4 billion debt issuance comprising five tranches.

Proceeds from the new debt are expected to be used to refinance coming debt maturities and for general corporate uses including further debt reduction.

Fitch said Pfizer is beyond a period of significant patent losses that included the U.S. patent expiration of the world's once best-selling pharmaceutical Lipitor in November 2011.

The company's patent cliff is less daunting given only 12.9% of the company's drug portfolio is at-risk of losing market exclusivity over the next three years, including the potential loss of market exclusivity for two of its five-bestselling medicines - Celebrex and Enbrel. Beyond 2015, the next significant U.S. drug patent expiration is Lyrica in December 2018, the agency said.

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