If you have been hoping for a reliable yet less expensive alternative to Botox® for the treatment of your frown lines, you are in luck. In August, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the usage of Xeomin® (incobotulinumtoxinA) for a variety of issues including frown lines. Among the information that it examined in order to approve this new product were comparative studies from Europe that evaluated Xeomin® versus Botox®. Manufactured by the pharmaceutical company Merz, it has been used elsewhere in the world since 2005 in over 84,000 people and presently is available in 20 countries.
What is Xeomin®?
Xeomin® is another botulinum toxin A, in the same category as Botox® and Dysport®, which acts by temporarily paralyzing the underlying muscles in order to treat wrinkles. These three products have the same basic toxin particle but their formulations are different. Because Xeomin® doesn’t have a surrounding protein particle as the other two products have, it may have the theoretical advantage of lowering the risk of developing antibodies to the product which can reduce effectiveness. (In reality, this does not really seem to be much of an issue with either Botox® or Dysport®.) It appears that its effects and characteristics are similar to those of Botox®.
Presently, Xeomin® is being released in very limited quantities until its planned widespread release sometime in 2012. We are honored to have been selected by Merz as one of only a limited number of physicians in the Scottsdale and Phoenix metropolitan area able to offer you this new product. In order to make Xeomin® an attractive alternative to the iconic Botox®, we are offering very attractive discounts that can add up to around 20% or $100 less than Botox® (if you use an average of 50 units).
If you would like more information on Xeomin® or Botox® or would like to schedule a consultation and treatment of your wrinkles with either product, you can call my office at 480-451-3000.
Steven H. Turkeltaub, M.D. P.C.
Scottsdale and Phoenix, Arizona