Allergan Plans to Build First Medical Aesthetics Center in China
Allergan plans to open its first Medical Aesthetics Innovation Center in Chengdu, China in early 2019. The center will have a training center for medical aesthetics healthcare professionals as well as an education and product experience center for medical aesthetics consumers.
The move is part of a growth strategy for the company’s medical aesthetic business, which consists of facial aesthetics, body contouring, and plastic and regenerative medicine products. The company projects a compound annual growth rate for its medical aesthetic business of 8 to 10% from 2017 to 2025 with net sales of approximately $7 billion to $8 billion in 2025 from $3.8 billion in 2017. The company’s medical aesthetic business is led by its Botox (onabotulinumtoxinA), which had 2017 sales of $3.16 billion. Overall, Allergan expects to invest more than $1 billion on medical aesthetics innovation through 2025 and expects to introduce one or two new products each year between 2018 and 2025.
Allergan and the Chengdu government have signed a cooperation agreement to establish the center. With a total investment of more than $14.7 million, the center is scheduled to open to the public in early 2019 and will train more than 3,000 medical aesthetics professionals annually.
The innovation center will use Allergan’s resources and clinical experience to improve the consultation and treatment skills of Chinese medical aesthetics professionals and their clinics’ management levels. Since entering China in 2009, Allergan has provided academic exchange platforms for medical aesthetics professionals through the Allergan Medical Institution. Following the establishment of the innovation center, Allergan says it will continue to partner with a range of industry partners, such as medical institutions and regulatory authorities, to support seminars, international academic visits, online meetings, on-site practice and demonstrations.
Allergan expects to double its medical aesthetics team in China by 2025 to maximize the growth potential from the expanding market in China. The company points to industry estimates of China’s medical aesthetics market in 2018 at $13.6 billion with projected average growth of 22.7% from 2015 to 2020. Allergan also expects to triple the number of medical aesthetics accounts and injectors trained each year in China by 2025, with revenue on key products rising as a result.
Allergan has introduced several products to the Chinese market, including Botox, Juvederm (hyaluronic acid), and Natrelle (silicone-filled breast implants). Allergan has also introduced facial rejuvenation solutions to China, such as MD Codes and MD ASA.
Allergan says plans to expand its opportunity beyond China by capitalizing on market growth in Asia and the Middle East, pointing to countries such as India, Indonesia and Vietnam as high-growth markets.
Source: Allergan (center) and Allergan (growth goals)