The Centre, P.C. - Plastic Surgery Blog

Botox Alternative to Get Approval? - Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Botox Cosmetic Injections are the most popular cosmetic treatment available, so it is surprising that it has taken so long for competing products to appear on the market. Compared to the number of injectable facial fillers like Restylane and Radiesse, the monopoly of Botox for treating wrinkles that result from muscle overactivity is remarkable. About two and a half million Botox treatments were performed in 2008, so the market is certainly big enough to share, but until now no competitors have been approved for marketing in the United States for cosmetic applications.

That may change as a new botulinum toxin A injection may receive Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval this year. It will be marketed for cosmetic applications under the trade name Reloxin. Reloxin has shown a similar functionality to Botox in trials supporting the approval request. Similar to most new drug approvals, the two products have not been compared head-to-head, but it is likely they will be similar in terms of safety and effectiveness. One might expect minor variations similar to that between hyaluronic acid-based fillers Juvéderm and Restylane. In this case, each shows slight benefits over the other for certain applications, and cosmetic surgeons pick one or the other based on personal preference.

Here at The Centre, P.C, we will evaluate Reloxin to ensure it is a quality product before we offer it to our patients. In the meantime, if you would like to learn what makes Botox injections so popular, please schedule a facial rejuvenation consultation today.