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Let the wrinkle-free rivalry begin! Skin-care vendor Medicis Pharmaceutical has closed a deal with a European company for the rights to Reloxin, an experimental injectable aiming to take market share from the blockbuster, wrinkle-eraser drug.
Medicis forked over $90.1 million to drug manufacturer Ipsen to help develop and market the competing product. Medicis also plans to dole out $103.5 million more as the drug clears various regulatory hurdles in countries like the United States and Japan.
Like Botox, Reloxin is a botulinum toxin used to relax lines on the face until a smooth appearance is achieved.
Medicis has been trying to add Reloxin to its portfolio since March 2005, when it made a play for the technology through a $2.8-billion acquisition bid for Inamed. At the time, Inamed held the rights to Reloxin. But the merger was called off after Botox-maker Allergan came in with a higher offer.
It would prove to be a small loss for Medicis. “Reloxin was the most important component of the transaction,” said Medicis CEO Jonah Shacknai in January. Mr. Shacknai said he knew Inamed would have to drop Reloxin to go through with its buyout by Allergan because of antitrust issues.
Medicis was right. And if Medicis can bring Reloxin to market, the company will push to become an alternative to the No. 1 cosmetic procedure in the U.S., Botox injections. In 2005, the line-erasing drug was used in 3.29 million procedures. Reloxin is currently in late-stage U.S. clinical trials. Ipsen says it expects to file for U.S. regulatory approval by 2007.
Once approved, it will give Medicis another product to put on the U.S. facial aesthetics market, which generated more than $400 million in sales in 2005, according to Millennium Research Group. Medicis dominates the market for dermal fillers, which are injections used to reduce lines and wrinkles by adding volume.
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