Baby boomers and ‘Ozempic face’ injections are crazy

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Baby boomers and weight-loss drug users with “facial twitching” are flocking to the treatment, which has a positive effect on sales and growing sales, according to dermatology group Galderma.

A Swiss company, which was created from Nestlé in 2019 and announced it last yearhas seen its share price rise as the popularity of products designed to smooth and enhance facial features gathers.

“I think there has been a big change in what old people look like,” chief executive Flemming Ørnskov said in an interview with the Financial Times, confirming the fact that more people are living longer.

The company has seen “significant activity” in consumers aged 60-plus in the beauty treatment option. “People live another 10 to 15 years and they want to look how they feel, not how they would look physically if they didn’t take care of themselves,” Ørnskov added.

Galderma is the world’s second largest player in the $9bn market for neuromodulator injections and fillers after US firm AbbVie. The first is a toxin that relaxes the muscles in the face to reduce wrinkles, and the latter, gel-like injections that are used to make the skin look dull.

Weight-loss drugs like Ozempic are also a key sales driver, Ørnskov said, with many dermatologists reporting that patients are seeking treatment for the so-called “Ozempic face” in those areas. in which there is a high activity of drugs using such GLP-1s. such as the Middle East and North America.

“If they lose eight to 10 kilograms or more, they start to show facial movement,” Ørnskov said. “There, people will need to use lotion.”

Galderma’s most popular product for weight loss users is a product called Sculptra, which was originally developed for HIV patients who experienced rapid weight loss. he added.

In its initial public offering in March last year, Galderma raised about SFr2.3bn ($2.7bn) at a price of SFr53 a share. The company’s shares doubled to SFr108.50 a share.

Galderma’s net sales increased by 9.2 per cent to $3.2bn in the nine months to September 2024, driven by its two largest divisions, skin care – which includes products daily skin care products like Cetaphil – and good injections. Its third therapeutics division lagged behind, with sales growing 2.9 percent during the period.

US sales, which account for 40 percent of the group’s total, increased 2.5 percent in the first three quarters, compared with 14.5 percent globally due to lower consumer demand in the market.

The company hopes to boost US sales with the launch of its new product, Nemluvio, which treats atopic dermatitis, and recently received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration. About 7 percent of the US population suffers from eczema, the company said.

Despite the decline in the US, Galderma said it is starting to close the gap with its main competitor in the injectables group, AbbVie, which developed the popular Botox brand and holds the leading market position in the group. this.

According to Jefferies analysts, AbbVie’s Botox and Galderma’s Dysport are the leading neuromodulators with Dysport used in 80 percent of American doctors compared to 20 percent of Botox.

Galderma says Sculptra is now the second largest brand in America. It has just started filling out a new machine specifically designed for people who want to look like they have good bone structure, for example men who want the appearance of a stronger jawline.

The Swiss group was founded in 2019 by Nestlé sold its skin health division to an investment group led by private equity firm EQT for $10bn, after the food giant decided it was no longer in line with its nutrition-focused portfolio.

Nestlé previously ran the skin care division as a joint venture with L’Oréal but took full control in 2014, in exchange for 2.6 billion euros of its shares in the French cosmetics group. .

In August L’Oréal it also acquired a 10 percent stake in the company. Analysts said the move reflected renewed interest in the aesthetics injection category, which has proven to outperform other consumer categories.