Fitch Ratings has affirmed
The Rating Outlook remains Stable. In addition, Fitch has affirmed
The Stable Outlook reflects Fitch's expectation that
Key Rating Drivers
COVID-Related Revenues in Flux: COVID-related revenues have significantly underperformed prior forecasts, which were already significantly lower than 2022 revenues. Fitch has again revised down its forward expectations despite previously recognizing the uncertainty regarding the long-term revenue run rates for Comirnaty (COVID-19 vaccine) and Paxlovid (active COVID-19 infections treatment) qualitatively.
The company continues to modify the vaccine to address new variants of the virus, though market demand has waned. Fitch also notes that the mRNA technology used to develop the vaccine is also being used to create other vaccines and therapies unrelated to the coronavirus.
Meaningful Increase in Leverage Post-Seagen: Fitch expects EBITDA leverage will exceed 2.75x in 2024 upon the recent closing of the
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