HEALTH CARE

ICN Ratings Lowered: Citing high debt and continuing losses, Moody’s Investors Service on Friday lowered its ratings on about $117 million in bond debt held by ICN Pharmaceuticals of Costa Mesa. Moody’s downgraded the investment strength of ICN’s approximately $78 million in sinking fund debentures to B3 from B2 and its approximately $39 million in convertible subordinated Eurobonds to Caa from B3.

Moody’s said the downgrade reported late Friday was based on the very high leverage of ICN and the company’s continuing losses that have resulted in the severe erosion of debt protection margins, according to Dow Jones.

ICN Pharmaceuticals, a pharmaceutical firm that makes drugs and products for laboratories, had a total bond debt of $241 million as of Feb. 28, the end of its first fiscal quarter. It recently reported a loss for its first fiscal quarter of $6.5 million, compared to net income of $2.9 million for the same period a year earlier.

However, ICN spokesman Jack Sholl on Friday called Moody’s bond downgrading unwarranted. He noted that over the past several years, the company has retired about $213 million in public debt and intends to continue to do so.