S&P downgrades AstraZeneca, debt to BBB+

S&P said it lowered the long-term corporate credit rating on AstraZeneca plc to BBB+ from A- and affirmed the A-2 short-term rating.

The outlook is stable.

The agency also downgraded the ratings on the company's senior unsecured debt to BBB+ from A-.

S&P said the downgrade follows recent news that AstraZeneca’s new immuno-oncology lung cancer drug Imfinzi (durvalumab), in combination with tremelimumab, failed to improve progression-free survival in patients compared to chemotherapy. The agency considers that this makes it more likely that the company's deleveraging path will be longer and slower than previously anticipated.

S&P said it now expects that AstraZeneca’s leverage will remain at the upper end of the 3 times to 4 times range over the next 24 months.

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