Over the years, Irvine-based Allergan Inc. has emerged as the frontrunner in wrinkle-reducing drugs with its flagship Botox and more recent Juvederm.
But Johnson & Johnson is trying to change that.
The New Jersey-based drug and consumer products company recently received Food and Drug Administration clearance for Evolence, an injectable collagen lower-face wrinkle treatment.
Evolence, which is derived from tendons harvested from pigs in the U.S. and Australia, is the first product of Johnson & Johnson’s new aesthetics group. The company got Evolence through its 2006 purchase of ColBar LifeScience Ltd. of Israel; the wrinkle filler’s been available in other countries since 2004.
Evolence is intended to correct moderate to deep facial wrinkles and folds.
Johnson & Johnson could hit some resistance to Evolence as consumers elect to have less cosmetic dermatology amid the economic downturn.
“They couldn’t have picked a worse time. But J & J; isn’t worried about quarter to quarter. The most salient feature of this is that it’s the first time one of the ‘bigs’ has gotten into the sandbox,” Kenneth Beer, a Florida dermatologist who consults for Johnson & Johnson, told the Wall Street Journal.
But not all analysts think Evolence is going to be an immediate threat to Botox or Juvederm.
“It’s likely to be a minor product, at least initially,” said Ronny Gal, an analyst with Sanford C. Bernstein & Co. of New York.
He said that skin fillers are coming from porcine sources, which “historically haven’t done well. Many people prefer lab-grown products.”
Beer said that Evolence causes less post-injection swelling than Juvederm or Restylane, which is produced by Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. of Scottsdale.
Allergan got Juvederm as part of its $3 billion deal for Inamed Corp. of Santa Barbara in 2006.
Other companies play in the skin filler market, including San Diego-based Artes Medical Inc. with ArteFill.
Emergency Medical Care Trial
The University of California, Irvine is participating in a clinical trial to examine a method of resuscitating people who have suffered severe trauma.
The Orange County Resuscitation Out-comes Consortium is conducting a clinical trial where people who have suffered trauma, such as severe car accident injuries, will be treated with a hypertonic saline solution. Previous studies have shown that hypertonic saline, a form of salt water that is made into a mist, safely and effectively decreases inflammation, which increases the chance of survival.
The trial is part of a National Institutes of Health-funded study that involves emergency medical services agencies, public safety agencies, regional hospitals, community healthcare institutions and medical centers in 11 regions in the U.S. and Canada. As many as 15,000 patients could participate in the study.
Orange County Health Care Agency, Mission Hospital, Western Medical Center-Santa Ana, the Orange County Fire Authority and fire departments from other OC cities also make up the consortium with UC Irvine.
Right at Home in OC
Right at Home Inc., an Omaha, Neb.-based senior care company that offers some medical services, is adding more franchises in Orange County.
The company is going to develop more than five locations in addition to its current offices in Tustin and Laguna Hills, according to a release. It said it wanted more offices in OC because the county’s population of residents 60 years of age or older is projected to increase 64% from 2005 to 2020.
The company’s medical services include nurse evaluations of a patient’s condition. Right at Home also contracts with other companies for some medical tasks, including servicing ventilators for clients who need help breathing.
Right at Home has some 150 franchises around the country. The privately held company’s revenue hit $100 million last year and is expected to grow 35% this year, Allen Hager, its founder and chief executive, told the Omaha World-Herald.
Right at Home competes with Home Instead Inc., which is also headquartered in Omaha and has locations in Orange and Mission Viejo. Home Instead differs from Right at Home in that it doesn’t offer medical services.
Bits and Pieces:
Endocare Inc. of Irvine said its cryoablation technique is going to be examined in an 800-patient study on how effective it is for men with prostate cancer that returns after radiation treatments. Endocare’s cryoablation freezes and destroys cancerous tissue VitalCare Diabetes Treatment Centers of Carson City, Nev., opened a clinic in Costa Mesa.
