The changing face of cosmetics
My story starts two years ago, after filming a short video for Bloomberg Originals. We’d just wrapped shooting and our cameraman, David, showed me the tape to review. While it may sound vain, my only thought was: “Oh god, I have forehead wrinkles.” While David assured me he could smooth the lines in postproduction, my mind was set: At the ripe age of 26, it was time to get Botox.
Thus began my journey with AbbVie’s wrinkle-smoothing injection that millions of Americans have turned to over the years in hopes of reversing the clock. It was easy enough to book a Botox appointment online at a Manhattan medical spa that was highly recommended by friends. And for the past two years, I’ve been going back every six months or so — when the effects fade — for a tune-up.
At an appointment this past summer, I deigned to look at the little vial of liquid the provider was about to stick into my face. “Wait! That’s not Botox?” I said, confused. Apparently, she told me, I had never actually gotten Botox, despite booking an appointment for the treatment. The whole time I’d been getting Dysport, a rival product from the Swiss cosmetics firm Galderma that’s cheaper at the clinic I was going to.
It turns out my experience isn’t unique. Botox’s name-brand recognition has made it an eponym for an entire class of wrinkle-smoothing injections made by a half dozen rivals. And in the past few years, those competitors have been quietly eating into Botox’s market share. There’s Dysport — the product I’ve been getting — but also Xeomin, Daxxify, Jeuveau and Letybo. They all work pretty much the same way, with some minor differences. And the companies that make them have been working overtime to get their products in front of consumers, doctors and medical spas — at Botox’s expense.
That’s become a challenge for AbbVie, the maker of Botox, as chronicled in our December issue of Businessweek. Sales of Botox Cosmetic— a $2.7 billion drug— are expected to drop this year for the first time since AbbVie acquired it 2019.
And that’s not the only issue the company is facing: its filler business is slumping as consumers shy away from the super plumped up lips and enhanced cheekbones that once dominated the beauty world.
While investors have so far been shielded from the sales drop, analysts say AbbVie can’t afford to let its reliable moneymaker fade. “Botox is a consistent cash cow,” Evan Seigerman, an analyst at BMO Capital Markets, told me. “If it starts slipping, that’s a problem.”
For its part, AbbVie has a plan to get back on track that includes a beloved reality TV host and an innovative new product that erases wrinkles even faster than Botox. For the full story, check out the latest issue of Businessweek. — Madison Muller
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