Multitalented Botox could get $500M off bladder indication

Allergan keeps finding ways to broaden use of Botox. The drug known best as a wrinkle fighter is now FDA-approved for migraine prevention, upper-limb spasticity, eyelid spasms and neck pain from cervical dystonia, all medical uses that account for about half of Botox sales. Up next: overactive bladder relief, first for people with multiple sclerosis and spinal cord injury, and next for a much broader population.

CEO David Pyott expects FDA approval for the first overactive bladder use later this year, Reuters reports. That market amounts to about 350,000 patients. Allergan would then look to broader approval for the bladder condition "several years later." One Botox injection can help relieve symptoms for up to 9 months, he said.

Botox sales are already on the rise, thanks to the recent OK for migraine use. In the second quarter, increased cosmetic use also pushed the drug upward; sales grew by 16% to $418 million. Analysts have predicted that marketing the for overactive bladder could be a half-billion-dollar proposition. "For a company with a revenue base of $5.2 billion to $5.4 billion," Pyott said, "another $500 million franchise is kind of cool."

- read the Reuters news