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Babies and users of weight-loss drugs suffering from “facial sagging” are flocking to injectable beauty treatments, says dermatology group Galderma.
In the year The Swiss company spun off from Nestlé in 2019 and It was officially released last yearIt sees its share price rise as the popularity of products designed to smooth wrinkles and improve the appearance of the face accelerates.
CEO Fleming Ørnskov said in an interview with the Financial Times that more people are living healthier lives for longer.
The company has seen significant growth with consumers over 60 choosing aesthetic treatments. “People are living 10 to 15 years and they want to look like what they feel, if they don’t take care of themselves they want to look like what they feel, not what they look like physically,” Ørnskov added.
Galderma is the second-largest player in the $9 billion market for neuromodulator injections and fillers, after US company AbbVie. The former are muscle-relaxing drugs to reduce facial wrinkles, while the latter are gel-like injections used to plump the skin.
Weight loss drugs such as Ozempic are also sales drivers, Ørnskov said. Many dermatologists say that patients are looking for the so-called “Ozempic face” treatment in regions where high doses of drugs are administered using GLP-1s. such as the Middle East and North America.
“If you lose eight to 10 kilos or more, they start to sag in the face,” says Ørnskov. People should use filler there.
For weight-loss drug users, Galderma’s most popular filler is a product called Sculptra, which was initially developed for HIV patients who experienced rapid weight loss, he added.
Galderma raised approximately SFr2.3bn ($2.7bn) in its initial public offering in March last year at a price of SFr53. Shares in the company doubled to SFr108.50.
Galderma’s net sales rose 9.2 percent to $3.2 billion in the nine months to September 2024, driven by its two biggest divisions, dermatology — which includes everyday skin care brands like Cetaphil — and beauty injectables. The third prescription drug segment lagged behind, with sales growing 2.9 percent in the period.
U.S. sales, which account for 40 percent of the group’s total, rose 2.5 percent in the first three quarters, compared with 14.5 percent in the rest of the world as consumer demand slowed in the market.
The company hopes to boost U.S. sales by unveiling its new product, Nemluvio, a treatment for atopic dermatitis that recently received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Approximately 7 percent of people in the U.S. suffer from implants, according to the company.
Despite the slowdown in the U.S., Galderma says it is starting to close the gap with AbbVie, the maker of the popular Botox brand and the industry’s leading market leader in the infections sector.
According to Jefferies analysts, Abivis Botox and Galderma Dysport are the leading neuromodulators in 80 percent of U.S. physician practices, compared with Botox at 20 percent.
Galderma says Sculptra is now the second largest filler brand in the US. It has launched a new filler specifically designed for men who want to look like they have better bone structure, such as men who want the look of a stronger jawline.
The Swiss team was founded in In 2019, when Nestlé was He sold the skin health unit It sold the food giant to an investor consortium led by private equity firm EQT for $10bn after concluding it did not fit into a portfolio focused primarily on nutrition.
Nestlé previously ran the skincare division in partnership with L’Oréal, but took full control in 2014, acquiring a stake in the French cosmetics group for €2.6bn.
In August L’Oreal He regained a 10 percent stake in the company. Analysts say the move reflects renewed interest in the beauty injections category, which far outpaces other consumer categories.
