AGN is back to the price where I shorted it successfully last year. One reason is optimism re the launch of the Juvederm dermal filler. Below is a link to a set of 2.4x photos that purport to show that Juvederm is a smoother product than Restylane, the market-leading filler: http://tinyurl.com/2dx5df . However, this difference has little if any clinical relevance, IMO.
>> Allergan, Inc. Announces Nationwide Availability of JUVEDERM™ ULTRA and JUVEDERM™ ULTRA PLUS Dermal Fillers
Wednesday January 17, 9:00 am ET
IRVINE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Allergan, Inc. (NYSE: AGN ), the maker of BOTOX® Cosmetic (Botulinum Toxin Type A), today announced nationwide availability of its 'next-generation' hyaluronic acid dermal filler family of products, JUVEDERM(TM) ULTRA and JUVEDERM(TM) ULTRA PLUS.
"We are pleased to now provide JUVEDERM(TM) dermal fillers to physicians and their patients across the country," said Robert Grant, President of Allergan Medical, a division of Allergan, Inc. "We believe that the unique scientific benefits and technologically advanced, smooth formulation of JUVEDERM(TM) will establish the brand as a leader alongside BOTOX® Cosmetic in Allergan's TOTAL FACIAL REJUVENATION(TM) offering."
The JUVEDERM(TM) dermal filler family of products provides physicians with the flexibility to tailor each treatment to a patient's particular needs. JUVEDERM(TM) ULTRA is a highly cross-linked formulation for more versatility in contouring and volumizing facial wrinkles and folds; and JUVEDERM(TM) ULTRA PLUS is a more highly cross-linked, robust formulation for volumizing and correction of deeper folds and wrinkles.
"In the clinical trials, I found JUVEDERM(TM) injectable gel to be a smooth-flowing product to inject, providing patients with a natural and smooth correction of facial wrinkles and folds," said Dr. Mark Pinsky, clinical investigator in the JUVEDERM(TM) dermal filler study. "I have seen similar results with the patients I have currently enrolled in the JUVEDERM(TM) Experience Trial, and I look forward to providing both JUVEDERM(TM) ULTRA and JUVEDERM(TM) ULTRA PLUS dermal fillers to many more of my patients now that the product is widely available. The ease of the injection and its long-lasting smooth and natural results make JUVEDERM(TM) an important facial rejuvenation tool in my practice."
JUVEDERM(TM) is the only hyaluronic acid dermal filler developed using the proprietary HYLACROSS(TM) technology, an advanced manufacturing process resulting in a malleable gel that flows easily into the skin and creates a smooth, natural look and feel. All other hyaluronic acid dermal fillers currently on the market, including Restylane® are granular consistency gels. An example of the granular consistency of Restylane® (under 2.4X magnification, 0.05 mL) can be seen in the accompanying photo and can be compared to JUVEDERM(TM) ULTRA and JUVEDERM(TM) ULTRA PLUS (under 2.4X magnification, 0.05 mL). The clinical significance of the differences has not been established.
Physicians and consumers are encouraged to visit www.Juvederm.com to receive additional information about JUVEDERM(TM) ULTRA and JUVEDERM(TM) ULTRA PLUS dermal fillers. The Web site also offers a physician locator to help consumers find a trained and qualified health care provider in their area.
About Allergan Medical
Allergan Medical, a division of Allergan, Inc., offers the most comprehensive, science-based, aesthetic product offerings under its TOTAL FACIAL REJUVENATION(TM) portfolio, including BOTOX® Cosmetic; hyaluronic acid and collagen-based dermal fillers; and physician-dispensed skin care products. Allergan Medical also offers the industry's widest range of silicone gel-filled and saline-filled breast implant options for reconstructive and aesthetic breast surgery, and leading minimally invasive devices for obesity intervention treatment. <<
[This is a big story inasmuch as collagen generation is the holy grail in facial aesthetic medicine. MRX’s CEO, Jonah Shacknai, has been telling investors that the duration of a Restylane injection increases the more injections a user receives. However, until now, I don’t think many investors took the assertion seriously. Now, there appears to be some hard science behind Shacknai’s assertion, and MRX is sure to tout it in claiming superiority vs AGN’s Juvederm. It’s highly likely, IMO, that Juvederm would show the same benefit with respect to collagen generation if anyone bothered to look for it, but evidently no one has.]
WASHINGTON, Feb 19 (Reuters) - Restylane, a popular cosmetic treatment for temporarily plumping out wrinkles, actually makes the skin produce more collagen, the natural stuff that makes skin look young, researchers said on Monday.
That means the product, which millions of people have had injected around their lips, cheeks and foreheads, has effects beyond even what its manufacturers claim, the team at the University of Michigan Health System reported.
The researchers tested Restylane, marketed by Q-Med AB of Uppsala, Sweden and Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp<MRX>. It and rival products use hyaluronic acid, which holds onto water in the skin.
"Everybody had thought that the whole story with this stuff is that you inject it and because of its volume-filling nature that ... it would go in and fill up whatever defect is there and that is why it made people look better," dermatologist Dr. John Voorhees, who led the study, said in a telephone interview.
"What we are saying here is ... that in addition to the space-filling concept, is it forcing your body to make its own collagen." That could mean regular injections could have long-lasting effects, Voorhees said. "The half-life of collagen is 15 years. It is going to last a whole lot longer than what a whole lot of people are thinking."
In the February issue of Archives of Dermatology, Voorhees and colleagues wrote that Restylane's plumping action stretches the fibroblasts, the cells in the skin that make collagen, and prompts them to make more of it. It also may interfere with the breakdown of existing collagen.
The company did not pay for the experiment and does not know what the report says, the researchers said.
DIFFERENT FILLERS, DIFFERENT EFFECTS?
Rival Allergan Inc. <AGN> makes a similar dermal filler called Juvederm and privately held BioForm Medical Inc. makes one called Radiesse.
But Voorhees said he did not test them, and their products are different enough that they may have different effects. "The various fillers are not going to be identical," he said.
Voorhees' team injected Restylane into the arms of 11 volunteers who had sun damage and were aged 64 to 84. They then cut out little plugs of skin to analyze them.
"A fibroblast is normally spindle-shaped with arms that stretch out. When attached to collagen the way it is supposed to be, it is a stretched fibroblast, and this is what you see in young people," Voorhees said.
Healthy, stretched fibroblasts also make lots of collagen, which gives young skin its firm appearance, Voorhees said.
"In both photoaging (caused by the sun) and natural aging the fibroblasts are basically collapsed and sitting in a sea of broken collagen. We said to ourselves maybe if we could figure out a way to re-stretch those collapsed fibroblasts, maybe we could find a way to make those cells act young again."
The looked at Restylane, which had been used safely for years, and found what they were looking for when they looked at the plugs of skin taken from the volunteers.
"They made a lot more collagen and the fibroblasts were stretched," Voorhees said.
The search is on now to find out what causes the change in the cell. Understanding this could help scientists find a way to regenerate many types of cells, not only skin cells.
"The stretch must be signalling the nucleus of the cell to turn on collagen. The question is what is being turned on," Voorhees said. <<
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