30 décembre, 2006 09:38
The Year in Review: Allergan (1)
© 2006 The Associated Press
NEW YORK — Allergan Inc. positioned itself as a dominant player in cosmetic surgery in 2006 when it bought Inamed Corp. earlier in the year, increasing the company's hedge against reimbursement concerns.
Best known for its Botox wrinkle treatment, the Irvine, Calif.-based maker of eye care and cosmetic surgery products increased its cash-only product portfolio to account for a third of revenue during the year with such new products as wrinkle-fillers and breast implants. The company estimates $2.98 billion to $3.02 billion in sales for 2006.
Cosmetic surgery products are rarely reimbursed by third-party insurers, making them an attractive hedge against insurers who can reject reimbursement claims for a product, resulting in a drag on sales.
In March, Allergan closed its $3.2 billion acquisition of Inamed, topping a $2.8 billion offer from Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. In the deal, Allergan acquired such products as the dermal filler Juvederm, a complement to Botox; the LapBand obesity treatment device, an adjustable band that is placed at the opening of the stomach to restrict the amount of food that can be eaten at one time; and a line of saline-filled and silicone gel-filled breast implants.
The company spent the rest of the year gaining approvals for the products. The LapBand was approved by the Food and Drug Administration in 2001.
In June, Allergan received FDA approval for Juvederm, and started a limited launch of the product in November with a wider nationwide launch expected in January. Juvederm is made of hyaluronic acid, a moisturizing agent already found in the skin.
In November, the FDA reversed its 14-year ban on silicone gel-filled breast implants, which cost about twice as much as their saline-filled counterparts. The action followed a similar event in October, when Canadian regulators allowed the implants back on the market.
Gel-filled implants are considered to look and feel more realistic than saline-filled implants.
The FDA took gel-filled implants off the market in 1992 after thousands of women claimed the implants were responsible for health problems.
Shares of Allergan rose 24 cents to $120.20 in Thursday afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares rose from a low of $92.57 in May to a recent high of $123.02, for an overall increase of 11 percent for the year-to-date.
