from ATLANTA BUSINESS CHRONICLE, April 26 - May 2, 2002

Botox boosters set to launch marketing blitz
By Ray Glier
CONTRIBUTING WRITER

It is the Tupperware party of the 21st century. Guys, you're invited, too.

Botox, the “pretty poison” that erases wrinkles, is officially on the open market. Approval from the Food and Drug Administration came on April 16 and pushed the stock up $3.80 in one day.

Allergan Inc., the maker of the drug, figures to see its stock climb higher as more and more consumers discover “Botox parties” as the company launches a Viagra-like marketing campaign. The fact that Botox is a purified strain of the toxin that causes botulism doesn't seem to be any hindrance to the buzz around the latest anti-aging remedy.

“The FDA approval is huge,” said Dr. Brian Maloney, a facial plastic surgeon who runs the Atlanta-based Maloney Center. “I call it the drug of the century. The CEO of Allergan said they are going to market it as aggressively as Pfizer marketed Viagra.”

Repeated treatments
Doctors around the country and in Atlanta will invite 15 to 20 people to their office for a “Botox party” where each guest is injected with a quarter to half vial of Botox, which helps to temporarily get rid of wrinkles. Two weeks ago, Maloney injected five women who made up a bridal party.

You might think the pretty poison would cost a pretty penny. Not really. At $400, the injections are affordable for the well-to-do - but they have to be repeated. If you want to keep the wrinkles away, you need injections every three to four months, sometimes every six months.

Maloney said that after the first several injections, patients could go as long as six months between treatments. The allure of the drug is that patients claim it can take five years off their faces by softening lines.

Tim Chiang, a research analyst with Bank of America Corp. in New York, said the key to Botox taking off in the marketplace is Allergan's print and television campaign. Chiang said there is low penetration in the market for Botox with just 300,000 people receiving treatment while the company estimates the target market at approximately 5 million.

Promoting the product
“If you look at other [cosmetic] procedures that are already blockbuster products (in excess of $1 billion) there is a pretty direct correlation between how much you promote a product through the media and the subsequent rise in sales,” Chiang said. “They go hand in hand because the broader patient population isn't aware what drugs are best for them.”

“If they see it on television or in print, some of these people are going to be inclined to ask their doctor for a prescription,” he added. “When a patient comes in the office and tells the doctor, ‘I want to try this medication,' there is a high percentage of physicians who will give that medication.”

Botox has a head start in the marketplace because cosmetic specialists like Maloney were giving injections before the FDA approval was announced.

“The surgeons are pretty comfortable with the product,” Chiang said. “It's the gold standard in the market.”

Indeed, the drug does work well and physicians are comfortable with its application. Maloney doesn't even wear a laboratory coat to the parties and calls the once-a-month parties “a very nonthreatening environment.”

“The ultimate success is going to be based on the patient who comes back because they get good results,” Chiang said. “The product does speak for itself and it does have a following on its own [without a broad campaign].”

There seems to be room for abuse. Some doctors have advertised wine and cheese Botox parties. Maloney shudders at the thought of alcohol connected with a medical procedure.

“If you need a few drinks to do this, maybe you ought to rethink why you are getting it done,” he said. “People need to be fully cognizant during this procedure.”

The other potential drawback for Botox is the economy. Injections are not covered by insurance carriers, so money used on injections is discretionary income that can dry up during downturns.

But even with the downturn in the economy, the drug seemed to pick up followers in the last year.

“I can remember doing seminars three or four years ago and I remember seminars where I had a free drawing for Botox and people would call up and say ‘What's Botox?'” he said.

“These days, the seminar rooms are packed when you say you are giving one of those things away.”

“The phone is ringing a lot anyway. We've been very blessed and say our prayers every morning,” he added. “Now, with this, the phone should be ringing even more.”

atlanta.bizjournals.com

Dr. Brian P. Maloney
Facial Plastic Surgeon
Atlanta, GA
(404) 252-5438