AbbVie’s Botox is a major blockbuster and king of the anti-wrinkle aesthetics market, but there are new contenders coming for its crown.
Revance, which markets its rival anti-wrinkle therapy Daxxify, is one of those battling for market share and is pulling no punches in its marketing war against Botox after officially launching its drug this year.
Revance won a long-awaited FDA approval of Daxxify last September, and, like Botox, its therapy is an injected neuromodulator. But Revance’s product is the first based on peptide exchange technology and has also been shown in a clinical trial to sustain its effects twice as long as Botox with one injection.
And the company is playing on those longer-lasting data for its new “Break Up With Botox” campaign, saying in a statement to Fierce Pharma Marketing that: “This campaign challenges the status quo, letting consumers know they can part ways with Botox if they are ready for something long-lasting.”
Revance is using the latest digital tech to help boost its campaign, which is seemingly appealing to a younger audience.
“Leveraging ChatGPT and developed by an all-female team, the campaign is helping consumers find the right words to break up with Botox through song and dynamic video content,” a company spokesperson said.
That includes a “break-up song” with Botox on Instagram, which is being promoted by online influencers such as Amy Chang. There's also more social content coming on Instagram and Tiktok and streaming videos on YouTube, Revance said.
The company launched a new and very bright "Break up with Botox" website that plays on that theme with embedded videos of young women talking to ChatGPT to find a way of breaking up with Botox to “start a new relationship with something long lasting,” which of course would be Daxxify.
Outside of aesthetics, Revance also is investigating Daxxify for its therapeutic benefits, which could further boost its market potential.
In January, the FDA accepted the company’s submission for a potential approval in cervical dystonia. Revance also has completed a phase 2 study in upper lip spasticity.
This beauty market took an ugly turn in May, however, as AbbVie said it was suing Revance, with the pharma giant accusing the company of recruiting key employees as part of a strategy to get its hands on proprietary information.
And that’s not the first go-round in court for the companies. In 2021, AbbVie sued Revance claiming patent infringement. That move prompted the Nashville-based company to file a countersuit. The litigation in those cases is ongoing.
AbbVie’s Botox, which was acquired when it bought out Allergan in 2019 for $63 billion, has been virtually unchallenged since it hit the market in 1989. In 2022, Botox racked up sales of $2.6 billion for its cosmetic applications and $2.7 billion for its therapeutic uses.
Revance is one of several new contenders hoping to muscle in on this blockbuster market, with Evolus and its rival Jeuveau also hoping to get in on the action.
Jeuveau was approved in February 2019 and launched that May specifically for the aesthetic treatment of moderate to severe frown lines in adults. Its marketing projects also targets Botox, with a campaign launched last summer called “Switch Your Tox and Love Evolus Forever,” which had an online and digital marketing focus and wanted consumers to move away from Botox and on to Jeuveau.