Allergan's Global Dominance in Facial Injectables Challenged by Acquisitions and Partnership Agreements Among Competitors

TORONTO, May 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- According to Millennium Research Group (MRG), the global authority on medical technology market intelligence, Allergan continues to dominate the global facial injectable market but is facing increasing competition from a growing number of competitors. As the traditional leader in this market, Allergan earned its top position primarily through its longstanding monopoly of the global botulinum toxin (BTX) market, where its BOTOX Cosmetic product has become commonly considered synonymous with BTX itself. In recent years, however, more competitors have entered the BTX market, and the newer market for dermal fillers has also blossomed, making it difficult for Allergan to maintain its share.

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This is especially true given the number of acquisitions and partnership agreements that have occurred in the facial injectable market. For example, Q-Med, which manufactured the popular and original hyaluronic acid (HA) dermal filler, Restylane, was acquired by Galderma in mid-2011. Given that Galderma already distributed Ipsen's Dysport BTX product in a number of geographies, the company can now offer both products together, competing with Allergan's product bundle of BOTOX Cosmetic and its popular JUVEDERM dermal filler.

Sanofi also sold its Dermik Laboratories subsidiary to Valeant Pharmaceuticals International around the same time, passing on the ownership of Dermik's popular line of Sculptra Aesthetic non-HA dermal fillers. More recently, Valeant Pharmaceuticals International acquired Medicis, which distributes Restylane and Dysport in North America. This allows Valeant Pharmaceuticals to become a major competitor in the lucrative North American market, where it will offer products across all three facial injectable product categories.

"Valeant Pharmaceuticals International, Ipsen and Galderma aren't Allergan's only problems," said MRG Senior Analyst Karen Gierszewski. "The injunction Allergan won against Merz Pharma in the United States was lifted early this year, and all signs point to XEOMIN earning rapid adoption in the country. Additionally, Allergan has historically struggled in the Asia Pacific BTX market, where low-cost local competitors such as Medytox, Lanzhou Institute of Biological Products (LIBP) and Hugel continue to be very successful."

Millennium Research Group's Global Competitor Insights for Facial Injectables 2013 report includes an overview of the global facial injectable market as well as detailed insight on the top ten manufacturers in this space. The geographies included in this analysis are North America (United States and Canada), Europe (France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom) and the Asia Pacific (Australasia, China, South Korea and Japan).

About Millennium Research Group
Millennium Research Group (www.MRG.net), a Decision Resources Group company (www.DecisionResourcesGroup.com), is the global authority on medical technology market intelligence and the leading provider of strategic information to the healthcare sector. The company provides specialized industry expertise through multiclient market research, ongoing Marketrack™ projects, customer loyalty tracking, facility-level procedure forecasting, and customized solutions.

About Decision Resources Group
Decision Resources Group is a cohesive portfolio of companies that offers best-in-class, high-value information, and insights on important sectors of the healthcare industry. Clients rely on this analysis and data to make informed decisions. Please visit Decision Resources Group at www.DecisionResourcesGroup.com.

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SOURCE Millennium Research Group