Botox News: Allergans Profits Jump 36%

Botox continues to be a golden child for Allergan, but there are a number of other products that are bolstering the drug giant's sales.

Allergan, and most especially Botox, is always on my radar... Since we opened the first medical spa back in 2000, I'm sure that we've put more than one of Allergan's sales reps into a new house. (Perhaps not, I'm not really sure what Alergan's sales reps make.)

While there Medial Spa MD's physician members who are in a position to take advantage of our Select Partners have less expensive ways to get Botox than paying sales commissions, Allergan certainly still takes the lion's share of the profits from most Botox treatments that are performed. Botox has become something of a commodity, with almost every medical spa and laser clinic (and a few day spas) offering it.

For those of you who are interested in the Botox Behemeth's contnued rise, I give you the following compiled from their latest earnings report.

Allergans second-quarter earnings soared 36% with accelerating sales spurred on by their cosmetic products. There have also been recent developments that mark progress toward FDA approval to sell Botox injections to treat migraine headaches.

Allergan said the FDA has asked the company for certain material, such as a modified Botox "risk evaluation and mitigation strategy" that includes information about thepreventive treatment of migraines. Allergan has 3 months to provide the information. Allergan says it continues to expect an FDA answer this year.

Evidently wall street liked the news... especially the rising Botox sales since shares of Allergan traded up 5.4%. The company also raised its 2010 sales estimate for Botox. (Allergan posted total Botox sales of $1.31 billion last year, split evenly between cosmetic usage and various medical treatments.)

Allergan's total revenue rose 10% to $1.25 billion with double-digit gains in both its specialty pharmaceutical and medical device businesses. (Facial aesthetic products wer up 32% and skin-care products up 40%.)

Allergan's second quarter "benefited from a continued recovery in our cash-pay aesthetics business around the world," said Pyott said in a company press release.

Botox sales rose 7% in the quarter to $360.5 million. Looking ahead, Allergan said it now believes the drug will post sales of $1.36 billion to $1.39 billion this year, which compares with a forecast in February for $1.33 billion to $1.37 billion.

It dropped its forecast for the eyelash-enhancing drug Latisse, however, to a range of $90 million to $100 million, down from February's $140 million target. A big issue is that consumers have learned to stretch their supplies, which means Allergan has to figure out how to broaden the market to offset that effect.

Allergans Outlook For the full year of 2010

Total product net sales between $4,620 million and $4,750 million.

Total specialty pharmaceuticals net sales between $3,835 million and $3,930 million.

Total medical devices net sales between $785 million and $820 million.

• ALPHAGAN  franchise product net sales between $370 million and $390 million.
• LUMIGAN  franchise product net sales between $490 million and $510 million.
• RESTASIS  product net sales between $580 million and $600 million.
• SANCTURA  franchise product net sales between $70 million and $80 million.
• BOTOX  product net sales between $1,360 million and $1,390 million.
• LATISSE  product net sales between $90 million and $100 million.
• Breast aesthetics product net sales between $290 million and $300 million.
• Obesity intervention product net sales between $235 million and $250 million.
• Facial aesthetics product net sales between $260 million and $270 million.
• Non-GAAP cost of sales to product net sales ratio between 15.5% and 16.0%.
• Other revenue at approximately $50 million.
• Non-GAAP selling, general and administrative expenses to product net sales ratio between 39% and 40%.
• Non-GAAP research and development expenses to product net sales ratio between 15% and 16%.
• Non-GAAP amortization of acquired intangible assets at approximately $20 million. This expectation excludes the amortization of acquired intangible assets associated with the Inamed, Cornéal, EndoArt, Esprit, Samil and Serica acquisitions and the ACZONE(R) asset purchase.
• Non-GAAP diluted earnings per share attributable to stockholders between $3.11 and $3.15.
• Diluted shares outstanding between approximately 307 million and 308 million.
• Effective tax rate on non-GAAP earnings at approximately 28%.

For the third quarter of 2010, Allergan expects:

Total product net sales between $1.13 billion and $1.18 billion.

Do it yourself Botox, Restylane, & Juvederm Disasters.

So while there are still a number of people posting on how much the love Laurie D'Alleva and her videos touting the benefits of do it yourself Botox, there are a growing number of people who still have a non-paralyzed thought or two that are coming forward to talk about the problems you might have pumping fillers into your face. Perhaps the do it yourself Botox crew are also attracted to Trepanation.

Here's a story from ABC News: Watch the video on "20/20"here.

Some consumers are ordering prescription-only cosmetic products online and injecting themselves at home. One woman who self-injected her face with filler said it caused bags and lumps under her eyes, and a hard, infected pustule on her cheek.

For millions of Americans, the solution to crow's feet, thin lips, and frown lines is at the end of a syringe, or in a bottle. A quick trip to a medical spa, dermatologist or plastic surgeon for a Botox injection, lip augmentation or chemical peel offers the promise of a youthful look.

But these cosmetic procedures -- and the medical expertise that comes with them -- don't come cheap. For a single treatment of Botox, doctors charge about $380; for lip-plumping injections, over $500; and for a chemical peel, a whopping $700.

These high prices are enough for some consumers to take their business away from medical professionals, and go instead to the Web. They are "doing it themselves," ordering prescription-only products online, and injecting themselves at home.

Laurie D'Alleva, of Mansfield, Texas, is a big fan of "DIY" beauty injections and treatments. She is the face of a DiscountMedSpa.com, a website stocked with what she claims are pharmaceutical-grade cosmetics, similar to Botox, Restylane, and Retin-A. 

Self-injecting botulinum toxin might sound dangerous, but D'Alleva, 39, tries to put her customers at ease with informational videos, complete with tips and pointers on how, and where, to inject. "It doesn't hurt... It's easy," D'Alleva claims in one video, as she stands in front of a mirror and injects her face repeatedly.

Disaster isn't what "Alex," a paramedic, had in mind when she visited DiscountMedSpa.com a few months ago. In her 40s and dating, she just wanted to improve her look, and save some money. She asked ABC News not to disclose her identity.

After viewing "every one" of the instructional self-injection videos on D'Alleva's site, Alex was convinced she could do it herself, since using needles was part of her job.

"Why should I pay somebody else that got a few hours of training to do something I think I can do pretty easily?" she said she thought at the time.

Alex paid $450 for a DiscountMedSpa.com products including an injectable facial filler. She says she injected the products under her eyes and alongside her mouth.

But "the next morning, I woke up horrified by what I saw," she said. "Literally, my heart started pounding, and I thought, 'What have I done, what am I going to do?'"

Do it yourself Botox: Are these people for real?

Wow. For whatever reason there's a lot of traffic on the do it yourself Botox thread: Fake Botox or not, Discount Medspa is going to jail.

Evidently there are a lot of Botox self injectors flocking to this site to comment on the story of the woman who was selling some form of Botox replacement online, and then publishing videos about how to inject yourself.

Certainly illegal, the site, Discount Medspa has been shut down. My guess is that there are a host of legal troubles ahead for the owner.

You'd think that people would be a little smarter than to inject themselves with Botox or anlything else they just bought online, but I can't tell what's going on with comments like this:

Excuse me Mr.RealMD you are getting the same stuff we are in a bottle that is sealed in a pure form un constituted. Could you PLEASE tell me how do you really honestly know what you’re injecting into your patient besides reading the Botox label across the bottle? You didn't package the bottles you received! and I am more than sure you didn’t have anything to do with the making of the batches of Botox either. All you did was received your order, took it out the boxes and stored it in your freezer upon delivery of your shipment and used it when it was time to inject your patients.

The injection part of receiving Botox IS very important and for you to have the nerve to say I quote “You guys don't really understand the issues involved with the actual preparation of the toxin before it is placed in the bottle. You are focusing on injection technique and the fact that you want to save some money and you think doctors make money off of you. You don't really understand that if this preparation is not authentic Botox or authentic Dysport you are risking your lives. “

Matter of fact Mr. RealMD we are!!! Focusing on the injection technique do you think were crazy do you know if you don’t focus on the injection technique that we could really damage ourselves and probably end up looking like some paralyzed freaks walking around, and you ARE risking your life if you dont know how to properly inject the Botox also so please dont play down that aspect of the procedure.. And I don’t understands you when you say authentic how do YOU know your trusting source is authentic I get the same effect as when you give it to me, so how do you know if the effects are the same the wrinkles are gone and the face muscle are numb for a 3-4 month period.

So I ask you again if the effects and the outcome of the Botox injections are the same how can YOU know that your (BOTOX) is the real thing and I am taking a chance with my Botox. To be honest we all including yourself is taking a chance we really do not know what this is doing in the long run, but our quest for the fountain of youth is keeping us on this same road ,the road of trying to keep our youth as long as we can and as safe as we can accomplish it, and that is including myself.

Dee Medspa is number one

Laurie the psycho just emailed me saying she is opening back up fr business and just taking time off for the Holidays. LOL,like we don't know why. She must be nuts thinking we don't know what happened. She must want to go to prison that bad. I'm sticking with mybasicsonline.net. It's cheaper and better from what I can tell.

here is what her email says.....

In a message dated 12/2/2009 3:33:32 P.M. Central Standard Time, discountmedspa@charter.net writes:

We at Discount Medspa have been working to make sure we are here for you for years to come! Please be patient and we will contact you with our new details soon!

There has been lots of media attention to our site and we will be taking some time off to ejoy the Holidays and Relocate. I appreciate all of you and your support during this difficult time, and promise to be available in the near future!

Dana

I’ve been a “self-injector “ for almost 3 years. I inject small amounts of filler frequently and thus have gained practical experience regarding my own face. I studied injection techniques for almost a year before I self-injected – I did not just jump into this, and I hope nobody else does too. My study resources came mostly from physician to physician professional videos, books and even my own injection doctor (past tense) from whom I asked questions and requested a mirror.

I stopped going to my supposedly “expert” filler doc because; 1) the outrageous fees he charged , 2) he didn’t seem to care about his patients at all – it really was about the money – he always charged me extra supposedly for time spent addressing my concerns -- so please don’t tell us docs actually care about us, 3) even though his credentials were impeccable, he is a “doc to doc injection teacher”, he left me very bruised and swollen almost every visit – something I have never done to myself. Thus I started ordering injectables off the Net and Laurie’s site was one of them.

I enjoyed the convenience, great prices, fabulous customer service, and knowing she and others had tried and tested her products (it would have been all over the news/net had someone been seriously harmed /disfigured from her products). Yes, I was very cautious and did a good deal of research regarding her company, her client results/feedback, products and her background before entering my first order.

While I was pleased with the products purchased from Laurie, I was troubled by her aggressive marketing of such and considered her business practice to be very deceptive (and I believe one of her charges are related to just that). This is where my concern with her company lied.

It irked me to see her market generic Chinese HAs as Sculptra (not even close), Restylane, and Juvederm. It also disturbed me to no end to see her market the permanent Chinese filler Amazingel as Artefill -- to even offer a permanent filler to potential first- timers is beyond belief crazy and extremely disturbing.

Yes, I will continue to self-inject, as most others will, as long as doctors remain money hungry and uncaring. But I close this with: buyer beware, do your homework/research (intensely), study anatomy/injection technique, buy pro videos, don’t let anyone tell you “anybody can do it, even a child”, research your product and don’t assume it’s what the seller is telling you it is.

It’s not as hard as the docs make it out to be, but don’t assume anything.

salome

Is this actually possible?

Black Market Botox....A Better Buy?

Botox: $50 for 100mu?

Thought that would grab your attention.  I've heard you can find Botox on the internet for that price.  I wouldn't recommend it.

Occasionally a patient will ask me to explain why those people in Florida "died from Botox."  They are referring to a story that was widely publicized in early 2005 about some people in Florida who were sent to the hospital after receiving phony Botox injections and becoming paralyzed.  There was another story around the same time of a woman in California who died from Botox injections done by a hair stylist.  Hair stylist?  Yes, you read that right.  The very important distinction is that they didn't actually ever have Botox injected into them.  They were duped and actually had raw-grade Botulinum toxin type A used on them. 

Right about now you might be thinking, well that would certainly never happen to me.  My vials all say Botox and have the purple, red, orange colors on the box.  Matter of fact, I'm guessing that the guy in Florida thought his product was safe since he used it on himself.  I actually know a physician who had ordered, but never used, this killer Botox that he ordered from the same source. He thought he'd found a better source to get the real thing at a cheaper price.

Botox is a trademarked name for a substance that is made by Allergan. Anything else is phony and potentially very dangerous and most certainly not worth the savings that might be had.  This bootleg industry has become so prolific that I wanted to be sure everyone knew what to look for and what to avoid.  Fake Botox is frequently made in China or Korea. Authentic Botox is made and distributed world wide by Allergan and has a hologram indicating it's credibility.

To view the hologram on a vial of Botox:

1) Examine the vial under a desk lamp or fluorescent light source

2) Rotate the vial back and forth between your fingers; look for horizontal lines of rainbow color on the label

3) Confirm that the name "ALLERGAN" appears within the rainbow lines.

I'm guessing that this black market industry will soon learn how to counterfeit the hologram as well.