Botox Hits the Big 3-0

Botox Cosmetic gets a make-over for the milestone

Botox is turning 30, and Allergan fêted its shining star, Botox Cosmetic, in style at a New York City bash. The event included the debut of Botox Cosmetic’s new packaging and a panel discussion featuring New York City dermatologists Macrene Alexiades-Armenakas, MD, PhD and Michelle Henry, MD, along with Irvine, CA-based neurologist Mitchell F. Brin, MD, Allergan’s chief scientific officer for Botox. The panel was moderated by Carrie Strom, Allergan’s Senior Vice President of US Medical Aesthetics.

The toxin, which boasts multiple therapeutic and cosmetic indications, got a lot of love from the panelists and the crowd.

When Botox got its first cosmetic nod in 2002, it boosted the field of cosmetic dermatology. “Thanks to Botox, dermatology is now at least 50 percent cosmetic,” says Dr. Alexiades-Armenaka. Sharing some insights from a soon-to-be-released study, she adds that Botox is continuing to shape and grow the aesthetic marketplace. Today’s cosmetic patients aren't just chasing wrinkles, she shares, “They want to look natural, fit and healthy.”

Dr. Henry adds that today’s aesthetic patients are skewing younger and that she is also seeing more male patients as well as individuals with skin of color seeking treatment with Botox.

Before a toast to the birthday toxin, Dr. Brin shared his best Botox memory, which dated back to his days at Columbia University when he treated a patient with severe blepharospasm in both eyes soon after the toxin’s first therapeutic approval for strabismus and blepharospasm in 1989.  “She was effectively blind,” he recalls. The next time he saw her, he asked what she did after the treatment and she said she walked across Manhattan. “I asked her why," he relates, "and she said ‘because I could’.”