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Drug Looks Lucrative, Wrinkle remover Botox could create $1B market
Paul Nassif, a Beverly Hills facial plastic and reconstructive surgeon, injects Botox into the forehead of Lisa Davis, a Los Angeles TV producer. Botox, a muscle-paralyzing neurotoxin, has become one of the most profitable products for Allergan Inc., (Damian Dovarganes/The Associated Press)
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BY SIMON AVERY
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES -- Not since the early days of Viagra has a lifestyle drug garnered so much attention as Botox.
Botox has erased early wrinkles on young women, flattened the furrowed brows of middle-aged TV anchormen, removed sweat stains under the arms of runway models and even erased gamblers' unwanted facial expressions.
In the process, the muscle-paralyzing substance has become one of the most profitable products for Allergan Inc., which first sold the drug more than a decade ago for treating crossed eyes.
Botox is a laboratory refined strain of botulinum toxin -- the cause of botulism and one of the most poisonous substances on earth -- that is given in extremely small therapeutic doses.
Botox already has regulatory approval to treat certain spasmic disorders. But it is the drug's wrinkle-busting properties that have created a national buzz -- although the Food and Drug Administration has yet to approve Botox for cosmetic use.
"I am getting to the point where the lines are a little more noticeable. [Botox] is an easy way to soften that change," said Lisa Davis, a Los Angeles TV producer in her early 30s who smoothed her brow with her first treatment last month.
The government doesn't prevent doctors from using Botox to fight wrinkles. And so injections of the drug have become the most popular cosmetic medical procedure in the nation since 2000 despite possible side effects such as swelling or numbness.
Allergan submitted clinical trials of cosmetic Botox last year to the FDA, which is now in the final stages of its review process. FDA approval is likely to increase doctors' use of the drug.
The Irvine, Calif., health care firm won't discuss Botox or its plans for the drug while the regulatory process continues. But analysts say Allergan already has a multimillion-dollar ad campaign ready to launch.
The company will pitch Botox with ads saying, "It's not magic. It's Botox," according to Gregg Gilbert, an analyst with Merrill Lynch.
In a cosmetic treatment, a doctor injects Botox into the facial muscles that cause wrinkling. The drug blocks a substance called acetylcholine that transmits signals from the brain to the muscle, paralyzing the muscle. The effects normally last about three months, which keeps most patients returning on a regular basis for treatments that average about $400.
The recurring business is one reason analysts say Botox will boost Allergan's profits. They estimate it costs the company $40 to produce a vial of Botox. The firm sells it to doctors for $400.
With baby boomers reluctant to part with their youth, no serious competition on the market, and only 10 percent of the U.S. market estimated to have been tapped so far, Wall Street sees plenty of upside.
"Botox absolutely has potential to become a billion-dollar drug for Allergan," Gilbert said.
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Alternatives to Major Surgery
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