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Archive for the 'J&J' Tag

Highs and lows of 2008 in cosmetic medicine

December 26th, 2008, 6:00 am by Colin Stewart

Botox injectionFor cosmetic medicine, news of the past year has ranged from promising new products to fears about potentially dangerous procedures.

It was an especially busy year for Botox maker Allergan of Irvine, which has faced challenges at the Food and Drug Administration, in court, and in the marketplace.

In the second half of the year, the economic slump hit, causing several cosmetic-medicine firms to go bankrupt.

Here’s a recap of the year’s events in cosmetic medicine.

January — Botox should be labeled with black-box hazard warnings, the advocacy group Public Citizen tells the FDA, citing 16 reported deaths and other serious problems that occurred in patients who received injections of Botox or the similar drug Myobloc. All but one of the deaths was after therapeutic-strength injections, which are used to treat muscle disorders. Only one was a patient who used the cosmetic form of Botox, and she died seven weeks after the injection. (Read the post)

March — The U.S. Department of Justice subpoenas Allergan for documents related to its promotion of Botox. (Read the post)
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Posted in: Companies, industry, finances • Non-surgical treatments • When things go right • • • • • • | Post a Comment »

Economy kills 2 anti-aging companies

December 4th, 2008, 8:09 am by Colin Stewart

The slowing economy has driven two cosmetic-medicine companies out of business, while a third has been gobbled up by a corporate giant.

Artes Medical Inc. of San Diego filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy Monday, citing declining revenue from ArteFill, its plastic-based filler that is injected into the face to smooth folds and hollow cheeks. (See microscopic view at right)

Rhytec Inc. of Waltham, Mass., filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy Nov. 20, saying that the economic downturn left it unable to get financing for continued sales of its Portrait Plasma skin-rejuvenation device (photo below), which uses plasma-generated heat instead of laser light to stimulate the skin.

Mentor Corp. of Santa Barbara, which makes breast implants, announced Monday that it is being purchased by Johnson & Johnson, the huge health-care products corporation. Before the announcement, Mentor’s share price had dropped 58 percent this year, closing last month at $16.15.

Artes had $5.9 million in cash on hand as of the end of September and was losing about $11 million per quarter. The company said in a regulatory filing that it had to file for bankruptcy “as a result of decreasing consumer spending due to the severe economic downturn that resulted in the company’s sales being significantly lower than it had forecasted for the second half of 2008,” along with inability to strike a deal for new financing.

The Rhytec Inc. bankruptcy left cosmetic doctors scrambling for a source of disposable nozzles that are needed to use Portrait Plasma devices they had purchased. Rhytec Ltd., the British-based parent company of Rhytec Inc., said in a letter to doctors that it is exploring options for new funding that would allow it to resume American operations and again supply nozzles to customers.

Before Rhytec’s bankruptcy filing, Dr. Christopher Zachary, chairman of the UCI Department of Dermatologist, bemoaned the loss of a company with an innovative and effective therapy. He said:

Unlike companies that market laserlipo devices that are selling like hot cakes and are universally gimmicks and which have made companies like Syneron and Cynosure very healthy bottom lines, Rhytec, which makes a device that actually works, looks like it is in a major tailspin. Such is the cynical life of an aesthetic device manufacturing company.

The cosmetic-medicine site Real Self reported, “Although the Portrait technology generated early buzz in the skin rejuvenation industry, it never quite made the mainstream like competing resurfacing devices such as Fraxel and ActiveFX.”

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Docs wary, optimistic about Mentor breast-implant deal

December 2nd, 2008, 6:00 am by Colin Stewart

Area doctors have mixed feelings about whether the purchase of breast-implant maker Mentor Corp. by Johnson & Johnson will be good for patients and doctors.

The outcome will depend on whether health-products giant J&J devotes more resources to research and whether customer service suffers, they said.

Plastic surgeon Dr. John Di Saia of San Clemente doubts that Mentor representatives will continue to serve doctors’ practices as well as in the past, based on his experience with previous corporate mergers. He said:

When companies are bought and sold, it disrupts the long-term relationships practices often have with representatives. These deals are probably better for the execs than for the customers.

But Dr. Christopher Zachary, chairman of the UCI Department of Dermatology, foresees vigorous competition between J&J and breast-implant maker Allergan of Irvine. He expects the companies will compete to improve their products, but won’t likely compete on price. He said:

Healthy competition indeed! Which is of course the American way, and likely to be beneficial in terms of creating better products. It is not clear, however, that this will in any way make these products less expensive.

On reflection, I am in favor of these companies charging an amount that allows greater R&D for the future. These companies are not based in Detroit, where inefficient and outdated automobiles are practically being given away. … This industry needs innovators like J&J and Allergan to lead in the field of aesthetic surgery, to create products that are safe, durable, and relatively easy to utilize. It’s OK to pay for quality.

Plastic surgeon Dr. Michael Persky of Encino predicts that J&J will boost the marketing budget for products competing with Allergan’s, such as Allergan’s injectable filler Juvederm. That could increase cosmetic doctors’ business. Persky said:

J&J will be good for the marketing of the aesthetic products of Mentor, plus the new porcine collagen Evolence. These products should get mega PR from the drug giant.

Photo: Above, Mentor worker makes breast implants at Texas plant. (AP photo)
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Giant J&J confronts Allergan in breast implant market

December 1st, 2008, 10:12 am by Colin Stewart

Mentor logoGigantic health-care products company Johnson & Johnson expanded its growing presence in the cosmetic-medicine market today, announcing a $1.07 billion deal to purchase breast-implant maker Mentor of Santa Barbara.

The acquisition intensifies J&J’s direct competition with Irvine-based Allergan. In September, J&J launched its own dermal filler, Evolence, which competes against Allergan’s Juvederm.

J&J’s increased challenge to Allergan will soon include Mentor’s breast implants, which vie with  Allergan’s versions. In addition, Mentor is developing the wrinkle-fighting injection PurTox to compete against Allergan’s Botox.

J&J, based in New Brunswick, N.J., announced today that it will pay $31 per share for Mentor stock, almost twice the $16.15 price at which it closed Friday.

The directors of both companies have endorsed the purchase, which is expected to be completed by April.

Mentor has about 1,250 employees, with sales of $373 million last year.

Allergan has nearly 8,000 workers and sales of $4 billion.

J&J, which sells products ranging from Tylenol to Band-Aids, dwarfs both of them. It has about 119,000 workers and $65 billion in annual sales.


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Posted in: Companies, industry, finances • OC • Plastic surgery • Uncategorized • • • • | 1 Comment »