Millennials are starting on prejuvenation by age 26, compared to women aged 55 and older, who didn’t start addressing signs of aging until they were about 47. Botox is a massive market, with an annual revenue of more than $2 billion and growing. However, despite the drug’s reputation as a balm for middle age, Botox has an unlikely new customer: teenagers.
That’s right, many teenagers are now interested in Botox, specifically those teens under the age of 18, and that’s raising a lot of questions among some Botox providers. It’s no real secret that the millenial generation is going under the knife for an injection of “youth” just like Gen X-ers and Baby Boomers before them.
However, the surge of interest in Botox from teenagers has inspired some rarely seen introspection from the pharmaceutical industry. Now, with the number of teenage Botox patients rising, Allergen is considering whether this particular growth market is healthy.
Allergan’s biggest selling product is the Botox, which brings in billions of dollars each year. Last year, about $730 million of that came from the cosmetic uses of the product, but Botox also has a number of non-cosmetic uses. However, despite this, Allergan CEO Brent Saunders is considering limiting the drug’s growth.
He’s calling for all stakeholders in the medical aesthetics field to come together with him and talk about managing the demand from the teenage population. He wants to know what can be done to better counsel young patients in the future.
According to the American Society of Plastic Surgeons 2016 report, nearly 230,000 teenagers between 13 and 19 had a cosmetic procedure last year.
“Regardless of whether you agree with me, it’s clear that we need to begin a dialogue about this issue before it becomes a major challenge. Unless we do something to address this issue directly, we risk harming a vulnerable part of our society,” Saunders said.
The CEO has been no stranger to controversy, especially for his opinions concerning the medical industry. He has been outspoken about the growing issues of drug pricing and its out of control future. He has not gained a lot of friends in the pharmaceutical industry for his progressive statements.
Saunders suggests that “at a minimum, these patients should consult and rely on the judgment of a trained and licensed healthcare professional and obtain parental consent prior to receiving any medical aesthetic procedure.”