Botox Rival Issues a "Pepsi Challenge"

Remember the Pepsi Challenge? Commercials showing everyday folks surprising themselves by how much more they enjoyed Pepsi than Coke in a blind taste-test?

Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. is taking its Botox competitor, Dysport, to the streets with a similar come-on. According to the Dysport Challenge, consumers can enjoy a two-pronged wrinkle option: use Medicis' generous rebates to try Dysport, but if you don’t like it as much as Botox, they’ll give you $75 toward your next Botox injection.

Over the year since Dysport gained FDA approval, it has captured less than 10% of Botox’s marketshare. Spurred by growing competition at its heals, Allergan has been pushing Botox into consumer awareness as a treatment for migraines and sweating. In fact, although such off-label uses for Botox aren’t technically approved by the FDA, they account for over 50% of the drug’s annual revenue.

While this kind of marketing may be raising eyebrows among medical ethicists, we don’t see a problem with it. After all, the Dysport promotion is targeted at cosmetic patients. How is this unlike a competition between Maybelline and Cover Girl mascaras?

Drs. Jason Pozner & David J. Goldberg
Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center, Boca Raton
Sanctuary Plastic Surgery, Boca Raton
Skin Laser Surgery Specialists of NY/NJ

The Latest Botox Competitor: REX

We are members of the alpha group for Relaxed Expressions, or REX for short. The device uses radiofrequency energy to first find the nerves to the glabella (the muscles that cause frowning), and then makes small burns in said nerves to paralyze them for 12-18 mon
ths: hence the relaxed expressions.

This procedure has also gone by the names of GFX and NoTox. According to a board-reviewed article on About.com, this procedure is said to create a more natural look than Botox, and also will be effective for those who have developed a resistance to Botox.

The REX technology has already been FDA approved for use with cardiac patients for over a decade... cosmetic applications were explored starting two years ago.

Thanks for reading,

Dr. Jason Pozner
Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center

Dr. David J. Goldberg
Sanctuary Medical Aesthetic Center
Skin Laser Surgery Specialists NY/NJ