S&P lowers Pfizer’s bond rating

NEW YORK Credit rating firm Standard & Poor’s has lowered Pfizer’s bond rating due to the debt it incurred in its acquisition of Wyeth, which the drug maker completed Thursday.

S&P reduced Pfizer’s debt rating from AAA to AA following the acquisition, attributing the downgrade to the difficulties Pfizer could have facing the twin challenges of a slower market and looming patent expirations. Pfizer paid $68 billion for Wyeth, racking up about $22.5 billion in new debt, and S&P had warned at the beginning of the year that it might lower the rating.

Still, the acquisition greatly expands Pfizer’s pipeline and portfolio of pharmaceutical, biotech and OTC drugs.

“Pfizer’s newly strengthened company will have some of the best assets, people, pipeline and capabilities in the industry,” CEO Jeffrey Kindler said in a statement Friday as the two companies began their first day as a single entity. “We have a clear responsibility to turn those strengths into meaningful results for patients, customers and the communities we serve, as well as for our shareholders.”