J&J Enters the Botox Alternative Market

2008-12-01 | 11:28

Will acquire Mentor Corp. for $1.1 billion.

Johnson & Johnson will pay $1.1 billion for Mentor Corp., a Santa Barbara, CA maker of PurTox, a wrinkle remover that competes with Allergan's Botox product.

Mentor also manufactures breast implants and other medical devices.

Up to now, Allergan largely has had the wrinkle remover market to itself. But more competitors are on the way. Scottsdale-based Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. and France’s Ipsen SA are awaiting a Food and Drug Administration decision on wrinkle remover Reloxin.

Johnson & Johnson recently received approval for Evolence, an injectable collagen lower-face wrinkle treatment that competes with Allergan’s Juvederm.

Allergan has yearly sales of $4.4 billion. About half of the company’s sales come from wrinkle removers, breast implants and a surgical device to treat obesity.