Revance will wait to seek backing from Botox-rival
Revance Therapeutics Inc. will wait to seek partnerships with bigger drug-makers until it is closer to regulatory approval for its Botox rival treatment, Chief Executive Dan Browne told Reuters in an interview.
The California-based drug developer shook the aesthetic industry last week by reporting data that showed its drug RT002 reduced the severity of frown lines for about six months, almost double the 3-4 months Botox and other treatments achieve.
Allergan's shares tumbled about 4% after Revance released the data, touching a near 4-year-low of $160.07. As the news shook investors who have bet on Botox owner Allergan Plc and its development strategy that relies on the popularity of the treatment in both cosmetic and therapeutic procedures.
Browne told Reuters that Revance would look to develop partnerships globally, but that he would prefer to wait until RT002 is closer to approval in the United States. "We are not trying to build a company to sell, we are trying to build a real company with long-term survival," Browne said.
He added that interest in the company should grow with the approval of RT002 for therapeutic indications as well as cosmetic uses, "Our expectation is not to be a follower, but to be a leader," Browne said.
Rival treatments Galderma's Dysport and Merz Pharma's Xeomin, among others, haven't been able to dislodge Allergan from the growing market, but several analysts say RT002's test results show it may prove a better alternative to existing short-acting toxins and could significantly cut into Botox's sales. "People have been asking for years for something that can last longer than three months," Dr. Joely Kaufman, a dermotologist and lead investigator in Revance's trial, told Reuters last week.
Allergan shrugged off any concern posed by Revance's potential entry into the market, "Allergan does not expect Revance's toxin to enter the market until mid-2020 and we do not believe this data will support a longer duration claim," spokesman Mark Marmur said in an email.
