Orange County Register

‘Botoxed beauties’ slide show

ONE YEAR OLD

A year ago, the new collagen filler Evolence was the new kid on the block — and looked tough.

Backed by health care giant Johnson & Johnson, Evolence seemed likely to pose a strong challenge to the market-leading dermal fillers, Juvederm from Allergan of Irvine and Restylane from Medicis Pharmaceuticals of Scottsdale, Ariz.

But sales have been so slow that J & J plans to sell Evolence’s manufacturer, the Israel-based subsidiary, ColBar, according to a business newspaper in Israel. The Globes business daily reported:

Sales of Evolence amount to only $25 million a year, far below Johnson &
Johnson’s expectations.

There are several reasons for this. First, Johnson &
Johnson does not specialize in aesthetic products, so its sales network,
known as a powerhouse in other fields, is weaker in this one. Secondly, competition in the wrinkle removal market is fierce and steadily intensifying.

J & J purchased ColBar for $159 million in late 2006 and now wants to shut it down or sell it for $20 million, Globes said.

J & J declined to comment on the report.

As Evolence hit the U.S. market in September 2008, several doctors surveyed by this blog predicted that it would account for 20 percent to 50 percent of their filler business within a year, if it performed as expected. If those predictions had proved true throughout the market, Evolence sales would total roughly $80 million to $200 million.

Some doctors say they’re fans of Evolence, but many dislike it or at least worry that it might cause allergic reactions because it’s made from pig tendons. For example, plastic surgeon Dr. Andrew Smith of Irvine and Corona said:

It didn’t offer enough of an alternative, because not many people use collagen
anymore. A softer filler like Evolence that doesn’t have anti-rejection (allergic) problems has potential advantages, the long-lasting duration of it is appealing, but it just didn’t catch on quite yet.

You risk something when you try something new. I’ve had a high degree of success with my current round of fillers so it’s always risky to try something new and have it not quite be perfect.

On the cosmetic medicine Web site RealSelf.com, Evolence is one of the lowest-rated injectables in the site’s unscientific but useful patient surveys. Only 39 percent of the site’s readers said the procedure was worthwhile.

Dermatologic surgeon Dr. David Sire of Fullerton had high hopes for Evolence a year ago, but was disappointed. He said:

When Evolence was first released it was presented as a safe and effective porcine collagen that did not need skin testing and had a very low incidence of bruising and pain upon injection, which was an advantage over the hyaluronic products [such as Restylane and Juvederm] that were then on the market.

They promised to market it aggressively — which they did not do — and early results were disappointing. … We have been sort of neglected by Johnson & Johnson. I would not be surprised to see it sold by Johnson and Johnson.

Dermatologist Dr. Lorrie Klein of Laguna Niguel said she hasn’t tried Evolence, but “From my research on it and hearing other physicians speaking about it, … it’s not any better than any other filler, plus it comes from an animal (pig) which makes it more likely to cause an
allergic reaction, although very rare.”

Plastic surgeon and blogger Dr. John Di Saia of San Clemente and OCBody.com said its derivation from pig tendons was “kinda ironic” for a product from traditionally pork-shunning Israel. Further, he said, “As the movement within the facial filler market has been ‘less animal-derived and more human-compatible,’ the product was poorly conceived for the U.S. market.”

New York-based cosmetic medicine consultant Wendy Lewis is an advocate of a finely textured version of Evolence, called Breeze, which is used to fill out the lips.

But it has not been approved for sale in the United States because clinical trials needed for FDA approval were postponed, she said.

“Unfortunately, there were several strikes against Evolence’s success — the global economic crisis being one,” Lewis said.

“Injectors who use it love it,” she added, and it has “high patient satisfaction too.”

Photos below (courtesy of Johnson & Johnson) show Evolence patients before and after treatment.

Related links:

• How facial-fold fighter Evolence will change cosmetic market
• New ideal — baby fat for middle-aged women. Really?
• Juvederm catching Restylane in dermal-filler battle, Allergan says
• Roth report: How Restylane reaches women over 35
• Comparison shopping for facial-fold fighters
• More options for dermal-filler fans, but Restylane holds on

Slide shows:

• Top celebrity slide shows of all time
• Sexy at 26, also sexy at 60?
• Sarah Jessica Parker’s changing look, age 14 to age 43
• From Kellie’s breast implants to Nicole’s Botox
• Stevie Nicks’ beauty from age 28 to 60
• Before Joan Rivers was plastic surgery queen

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