The maker of Botox Allergan Plc has made a quarterly profit higher than market expectations. The drugmaker’s revenue experienced a 9% increase with the assistance of the pharmaceutical company’s medical aesthetics unit. The unit has since seen an increase in revenue of more than 53%, rising from $419.8 million to $643.9 million.
According to Investor’s Business Daily, aside from Botox’s increased sales, other products of the company have had stagnant, if not negative, results. Kybella, a fat-removing drug that’s injected under the chin, remained static with revenue of $12.7 million. The eye drug Restasis has also decreased by 9.4%.
However, sales in other parts of the company have since climbed. Coolsculpting sales have grown to $78.9 million after the closing acquisition of Zeltiq in April earlier this year. And Juvederm’s sales have grown to $126.2 million, an increase of 7.3%.
Botox’s increase in revenue ultimately stems from its dual nature as both cosmetic and medical treatment. Koffler’s original estimate for Botox’s cosmetic revenue was for $212.7 million, a goal which the cosmetic revenue of Botox missed at $210.3 million. However, Koffler’s estimate for Botox’s therapeutic revenue was for $325.6 million, a total which the unit topped at $346.9 million.
Botox is the top ranking aesthetic procedure among American women over the age of 35, but prior to its development for skin treatment in the 1990s, Botox was and still is used for a variety of medical treatments. Some of these medical treatments include eye conditions, migraines, uncontrolled muscle spasms, and the side effects of stroke.
“When we use it, we inject it into a muscle,” said Dr. William Rossing of Avera Medical Group Neurology. Dr. Rossing uses Botox to help patients cope with muscle spasms. “[Botox] blocks the release of a chemical or neurotransmitter called acetylcholine and by blocking that release it stops the communication between the nerve and the muscle that allows the muscle to relax.”
Botox is also a popular medical treatment to help those suffering from hyperhidrosis, a genetic condition that causes an individual to sweat four to five times the amount of the average person. When Botox is injected into the underarms and other parts of the body, it helps to delay the neurotransmitters sent from the sweat glands to the brain, therefore reducing the amount of sweat produced.
Allergan Plc has increased by 0.1% in stock and expects to close at 250.36 by the end of August. The pharmaceutical company now expects a shift in full-year revenue to $16.05 billion from its prior estimate of $15.80 billion.
Photo: FiercePharma
