Botox Shows Signs of Stress

No wonder the maker of Botox is studying how the product can treat headaches.

Like breast implants, tummy tucks and other cosmetic procedures it looks like people are cutting out trips to the doc to get a little shot of youthfulness.

Allergan Inc., the Irvine, California-based company that makes Botox, reported a 4% drop in sales for the first half of this year to $634 million. The product has been a blockbuster for Allergan, used in one of the more prevalent cosmetic procedures today: the elimination of wrinkles. Even with a dismal fourth quarter last year, Botox sales rose 8% in 2008. But now the company predicts the product's sales will fall this year to about $1.2 billion, from $1.3 billion last year.

Botox is a much cheaper alternative to plastic surgery and has been seen as holding up well in a recession. Almost 2.5 million people got Botox injections to treat wrinkles in the U.S. last year, according to the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery. That's almost a quarter of all cosmetic procedures done in 2008, the group's data show.

In fact, Botox shots and other non-surgical procedures have been keeping plastic surgeons afloat in the down economy. While people are holding off on face lifts that can costs tens of thousands of dollars, Botox shots cost an average of $443, according to the surgeon's group.

"Every three or four months, people come in: they feel good, they look good and then they come back," says Dr. Renato Saltz, a Salt Lake City surgeon and president of the trade group.

Last year was a particularly challenging one for plastic surgeons, with some practices reporting sales down by half, Dr. Saltz says. Cosmetic procedures dropped 12 percent to 10.3 million last year, the surgeons group data show. Dr. Saltz doesn't think 2009 will be significantly better than 2008 but it won't be worse, he says.

Allergan is studying the use of Botox for other medical uses, including the treatment of migraine headaches. The drug already is approved in the U.S. to treat excessive sweating and neck muscle spasms.