Cosmetic Botox procedures rose 17%, in the Healthcare column

OC Hospitals, Others Get $50 Million in Tobacco Tax Money

The Chicago-based American Academy of Cosmetic Surgery issued a report on what types of surgical and non-surgical procedures people underwent to improve their looks last year. Some of the academy’s findings could bring a smile to officials at Allergan Inc., the Irvine-based specialty pharmaceutical company.

The academy’s study showed that the number of Botox procedures, which are classified separately from surgeries, went up 17% in 2000. Specifically, 730,787 Botox procedures were logged in 2000, compared to 623,588 in 1999.

Last year, Botox accounted for $239.5 million in worldwide sales for Allergan, up 36% from $175.8 million in sales during 1999.

Botox, or botulinum toxin type A, is lethal unless it’s used properly. The drug has Food and Drug Administration approval for three primary uses,strabismus (crossed eyes), blepharospasm (abnormal eyelid muscle contraction) and cervical dystonia (shoulder and neck movement disorders).

In recent years, however, Botox has gained popularity as a wrinkle-reducing agent and has been mentioned in magazines that appeal to fashion-conscious women. Botox is allowed for “off-label” usage such as wrinkle reduction as long as it has FDA approval for other uses, according to Christine Cassiano, an Allergan spokeswoman.

Allergan’s applied to the FDA to allow Botox to be used for forehead wrinkle reduction and hopes to have approval by the end of the year, Cassiano said.

Cassiano also noted that Botox was mentioned in a study that the American Association of Retired Persons recently did on cosmetic surgery. AARP’s study, which only covered around 1,200 respondents, showed that temporary cosmetic procedures such as Botox or collagen injections were most common among women 65 years of age or older, with 5% reporting having such procedures done.

Allergan gained full control of Botox’s future uses in 1991, after buying a company called Oculinum Inc. Oculinum grew out of the 1970s research of Dr. Alan Scott, a San Francisco ophthalmologist who found that tiny amounts of botulinum toxin injected into eye muscles allowed close to normal muscle movement for strabismus patients.

In other Allergan news, the company released six-month study data comparing its Lumigan glaucoma medication with timolol in lowering intraocular pressure. Allergan said the data suggested that Lumigan was “statistically and clinically superior to timolol in lowering such pressure over a 24-hour period and it appears to be safe and well-tolerated in patients with glaucoma or ocular hypertension.

Tobacco Money

The Children and Families Commission of Orange County, Santa Ana, recently issued its year-end review. The commission, which was formed as a result of Proposition 10, is responsible for distributing funds received from tobacco tax revenue. OC received approximately $50 million in 2000, according to the commission.

Among other things, the commission said that 40% of its program grants went to medical services, while 20% went to health access activities and 10% went to “early care and education.”

Healthcare institutions that received money include Children’s Hospital of Orange County, Orange, $2.5 million; University of California, Irvine, $2.5 million; St. Joseph Hospital, Orange, $1.25 million; St. Jude Medical Center, Fullerton, $425,000 and Latino Health Access, Santa Ana, $350,000.

Bits and Pieces:

Health Care Property Investors Inc., Newport Beach, adopted a dividend reinvestment and stock purchase plan for existing shareholders and new investors California Nurses Association, Oakland, is sponsoring a bill in the California Legislature that would ban mandatory overtime for nursing beyond eight hours a day or 40 hours in a week. Mandatory overtime only would be allowed during a natural disaster or emergency declaration by government officials. If it becomes law, voluntary overtime is exempted St. Joseph Hospital, Orange, reported that it reached a $3.5 million fund-raising goal for its heart center campaign. The funds will support new facilities and technology for the hospital’s heart program TriZetto Group Inc., Newport Beach, signed a contract to provide health insurance Portability and Accountability Act-related services to Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida Inc. Under the pact, TriZetto is covering administrative simplification consulting services Prescription Solutions, Costa Mesa, is going to manage pharmacy benefits for the 160,000 members of M-Plan, an Indianapolis-based HMO. Prescription Solutions is a wholly owned subsidiary of PacifiCare Health Systems Inc., Santa Ana ChromaVision Medical Systems Inc., San Juan Capistrano, signed an agreement with Antibodies Inc., a private company based in Davis. The deal allows ChromaVision to market customized reagents and antibody kits with its cellular imaging system Annette Walker, a Coto de Caza resident, won the Ritz E. Heerman Memorial award from the California Healthcare Association. Walker, senior vice president at Memorial Health Services, Long Beach, won the award after leading a team that developed an emergency healthcare information card Glendora-based Laser Eye Center, which has offices in Fullerton and Newport Beach, said it was the first freestanding corrective laser eye surgery company to receive Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations recognition.