AbbVie files fast-acting Botox successor in US

AbbVie is hoping to extend its range of neurotoxin-based pharma and cosmetic products with trenibotulinumtoxinE (TrenibotE), a short-acting successor to its blockbuster Botox brand, that has just been filed for approval in the US.

If approved, TrenibotE will offer a fast-acting and shorter duration treatment for moderate to severe glabellar or 'frown' lines than Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA), which AbbVie thinks could be an attractive option for people who are new to this sort of treatment and may be reluctant to get an injection whose effects can extend for three to four months.

In contrast, TrenibotE's effects last for two to three weeks, while it can start to work as early as eight hours after administration versus three to seven days with Botox.

"New patients wanting to experience the aesthetic benefits of a neurotoxin cite 'fear of looking unnatural' as a barrier to initiating neurotoxin use for aesthetic indications," said AbbVie in a statement.

"If approved, TrenibotE will be the first serotype E neurotoxin offering patients the opportunity to experience a neurotoxin with rapid clinical effect for a shorter duration of time as a trial before getting treatment with Botox."

Despite being on the US market since 1989 – initially for medical uses like strabismus and blepharospasm, and later for cosmetic reduction of wrinkles – Botox remains a major earner for AbbVie and its Allergan subsidiary, which sells the product.

Therapeutic uses generated $3.3 billion in worldwide sales last year, up 12.5%, with cosmetic applications adding another $2.7 billion, but with largely flat growth overall and a 4% decline in the last quarter of the year.

The brand is now facing increasing competition from other neurotoxin products, including Ipsen's Dysport (abobotulinumtoxinA), Merz Pharma's Xeomin (incobotulinumtoxinA), and Solstice Neurosciences' Myobloc (rimabotulinumtoxinB).

TrenibotE could give it an opportunity to recapture sliding market share, which AbbVie said was in the mid-60s percentage range at the end of last year.

TrenibotE has been filed on the back of clinical data from two phase 3 trials that supported its rapid onset and short duration of action and demonstrated placebo-like tolerability over up to three injections.

Carrie Strom, president of Allergan's global aesthetics division, said that TrenibotE "will be an important catalyst for new patient activation into the category," after which the strategy will be to convert them to Botox.

The company is also planning to test TrenibotE in combination with Botox, with the objective of providing fast onset and long duration of action.

Image by Frank Rietsch from Pixabay