Valeant Pharmaceuticals International Inc. plans to ask lenders to loosen restrictions on its debt load shortly, Chief Executive Officer Joe Papa said Tuesday on a call discussing second-quarter results.

While the company is currently in compliance with financial maintenance covenants, "our cushion" is not as large as we would like it to be, Papa said. This will be the company's second time seeking covenant relief from lenders this year. In April, Valeant got creditors to relax its interest coverage maintenance covenant as part of a broader effort to amend its credit agreement and waive a default.

Some of Valeant's lenders are willing to loosen terms if they can secure a generous fee or a higher interest rate from the company, according to people with knowledge of the matter.