The maker of Botox is injecting some big data into its Irvine operations.
Allergan PLC plans to use a new batch of tech-savvy employees at the drugmaker’s sprawling local campus near John Wayne Airport to beef up sales of its portfolio of medical aesthetics product offerings, including Botox and the dermal filler Juvederm collection.
The company’s pivot toward a more direct-to-consumer technology-focused business model was disclosed last week at OCTANe’s 13th annual Medical Technology Innovation Forum in Newport Beach.
The data emphasis comes as the company tries to better serve patients, according to Carrie Strom, senior vice president of U.S. medical aesthetics.
Strom was promoted to the position in May.
“We need [to] make aesthetics less medical, [and put] patients in the center—and assist patients in a number of different ways to make [the] purchasing decision easier,” Strom told the Business Journal at the OCTANe event at the Newport Beach Marriott Hotel & Spa.
D2C Data
Strom said Allergan’s patient-first strategy is split between consumer education and direct-to-consumer outreach.
Jasson Gilmore heads the latter operation as vice president and general manager of digital, consumer loyalty and big data based in Irvine. He said he plans to hire about 20 people for a new direct-to-consumer outreach division, “individuals with background in Silicon Valley data science … engineers from Google, Amazon” to analyze purchasing data in order to find out “how we can drive consumer-direct sales.”
Gilmore said the team’s immediate task will be to mine through purchasing data, which is “a full-time job in the next 12-month time.”
It’s also responsible for consumer-targeted content creation, including “social media work,” he said.
Allergan is a forerunner among Big Pharma companies looking for a new technology edge.
“It’s happening very quickly, [the aesthetics industry is becoming] more consumer-focused, more transactional,” he said.
Gilmore, who joined the company about three months ago, is a serial entrepreneur.
He’s led several healthcare-focused digital startups, including Irvine-based The Patient’s Guide and Belly Ballot. He was most recently chief commercial strategy strategist at Carlsbad-based Obalon Therapeutics, which develops a three-balloon gastric device for weight loss.
Leverage
Gilmore said Allergan’s leading position in the aesthetics world allows the team to leverage the company’s brands through digital channels to drive the next phase of growth.
Take Botox, for example. The company has a list of more than 5 million high spenders—a list that “any luxury company would be jealous of,” Gilmore said.
The blockbuster drug, whose sales are divided between the company’s aesthetics and therapeutics units, generated $348 million and $407 million, respectively, for the quarter.
Allergan reported third-quarter sales last week of $3.9 billion, down 3% year-over-year.
Medical aesthetics—a segment largely based in Irvine that includes sales of facial aesthetics, plastic surgery, regenerative medicine, body contouring and skin care products—continues to be a key driver. It generated $657 million in sales, up 9% year-over-year.
Allergan had a $54 billion market cap as of press time.
The Trio
Its next growth phase comes after changes this year to the leadership makeup at the Irvine campus, which employs about 870 people, according to the Business Journal estimate.
Strom replaced former aesthetics chief David Moatazedi, who left to take the helm at Irvine-based Evolus Inc. (Nasdaq: EOLS), developer Botox rival DWP-450, which is under federal review.
She was previously vice president of marketing in the company’s plastic surgery and regenerative medicine divisions. She also served as vice president of marketing for SkinMedica, a line of skin products the company bought in 2012.
Part of Allergan’s direct-to-consumer strategy, in addition to bringing Gilmore onboard, is increasing consumer understanding and awareness of medical aesthetics treatments, according to Strom.
Alexandra Wilson, senior vice president of consumer strategy and innovation and co-founder of Gilt Groupe and Glamsquad, leads that effort. She joined the team in March last year.
Allergan said that while there’s growing acceptance of cosmetic treatments, particularly among millennials, it estimates that only 6% of the 65 million Americans who would consider such a treatment have followed through.
“We need to convince the 60 million Americans standing on the sideline,” she said.
Strom said Allergan’s recent decision to buy Bonti Inc. is part of that overarching strategy.
The Newport Beach-based biotech company, whose executives hail from Allergan, develops EB-001. The clinical-stage neurotoxin produces a similar effect to Botox’s but is characterized by a faster onset of action—within 24 hours—and a shorter duration of effect—two to four weeks.
Allergan announced in September that it would by Bonti for $195 million.
Chief Executive Brent Saunders said at the time of the acquisition that the fast-acting neurotoxin “will be an attractive option for consumers, particularly those who are considering a medical aesthetics treatment for the first time.”
