Allergan’s Botox Goes Over Big in South Korea, Too
Cardiac Science Nets $38 Million; Kaiser’s Bell Takes New Job
HEALTHCARE – Vita Reed
Botox, the flagship product of Irvine-based Allergan Inc., isn’t just big in Newport Beach and other affluent areas of the U.S. It’s also gaining fans overseas.
Global news service Reuters recently reported that a growing number of South Koreans are shelling out up to a half-month’s pay for Botox injections to reduce facial wrinkles. Botox, a purified form of botulinum toxin type A, blocks hormones that contract muscles.
“My friends said I look 10 years younger,” Kim Kae-young, a South Korean fashion designer, told Reuters after receiving Botox injections.
Daewoong Pharmaceutical Co., which imports Botox into South Korea, has projected 2001 sales of the neurotoxin to hit about $9.5 million, up 60% from 2000. More than 80% of Botox treatments are used for cosmetic purposes, Yoo Joo-hwan, a Daewoong official, told Reuters.
“Botox is growing more popular and it is now one of Daewoong’s top 15 best-sellers among 200 items,” Yoo said.
A vial of Botox sells for about $462 in South Korea, and a single treatment runs from $315 to $630, according to Reuters. The article noted that figures from South Korea’s Labor Ministry showed that the average monthly salary in the country is 1.7 million won, or about $1,350.
The article also noted that South Koreans are “beauty-obsessed” and that cosmetic Botox patients weren’t heavily concerned about how much the injections cost.
“Price doesn’t matter, because it gives me more satisfaction than money can buy,” Kim told Reuters. “I earned a lot of self-confidence, which is very important in my social activities. I’m ready for the next Botox treatment, when it’s needed.”
The cosmetic use is “off-label”,which means Allergan does not have government approval to market Botox as a cosmetic injection. Botox is also used to treat excessive sweating of underarms and palms, crossed eyes, uncontrolled blinking and involuntary head movement caused by muscle spasms.
In other Allergan news, the company said that a European regulatory committee recommended that the European Commission approve Lumigan, Allergan’s new glaucoma pharmaceutical. Allergan said it expects full European Union approval within three months or so.
The Food and Drug Administration and similar regulatory bodies in six Latin American countries already have approved Lumigan, and sales this year totaled $20.3 million through Sept. 28, according to Allergan.
Cardiac Science Raises $38M
Cardiac Science Inc., an Irvine-based medical device maker, said it raised $38 million in two private stock placements. Cardiac Science makes heart defibrillators.
The device maker said it used the proceeds from a $28 million direct offering partly to finance its recently finished acquisition of Survivalink Corp. and partly for working capital. Funds raised in a subsequent $10 million placement are being earmarked for expanding its sales force, launching two new products and general corporate purposes. The new products are a second-generation Powerheart for hospital use and a new defibrillator for public use.
Cardiac Science said that approximately $28 million of the total capital raised came primarily from existing shareholders. Domain Associates, with offices in Princeton, N.J. and Laguna Niguel, and equity4life, located in Zurich, Switzerland, led that group.
The device maker’s investment bankers assisted Cardiac Science in raising the additional $10 million through a placement with institutional buyers led by AIM Investment Funds, Houston, and Special Situations Private Equity Fund, New York.
Kaiser Official Moving to CalOPTIMA
Dr. Kenneth Bell, area medical director for Kaiser Permanente Orange County since 1988, will leave that post Dec. 31 to become chief medical officer for CalOPTIMA, the county’s managed-care program for MediCal recipients.
Bell, an obstetrician and gynecologist, joined Kaiser in 1968 and is known for his work in promoting women’s health issues, particularly obstetrical care. Among other things, the physician established a nurse midwifery program at Kaiser’s hospital in Anaheim that spread to other system facilities.
Bits and Pieces:
Micro Therapeutics Inc., Irvine, appointed EV3 International its exclusive representative for its endovascular products, including its Onyx liquid embolic system. Among other things, EV3 will be responsible for establishing and managing a sales force for interventional neurovascular products in international markets. EV3’s majority shareholder is Warburg Pincus LLP, the lead investor in Micro Investment LLC, Micro Therapeutics’ majority shareholder Saddleback Memorial Medical Center, Laguna Hills, introduced InSync, a therapy that involves implanting a pacemaker to help regulate the heartbeat of patients with moderate to severe cardiac disease. The Food and Drug Administration approved the therapy earlier this year Children’s Hospital of Orange County, Orange, had its cord blood bank named after Eastwood Insurance Services Inc., Anaheim Hills. The Eastwood Endowment provides program support for cord blood banking and research at the hospital.
