Baby boomers and “Ozempic face” are driving the hype around injectables
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According to dermatology group Galderma, baby boomers and weight-loss drug users suffering from “sagging facial skin” are turning to injectable aesthetic treatments in droves, driving up sales.
The Swiss company, which was spun off from Nestlé in 2019 and went public last yearThe company’s stock price has skyrocketed as products designed to smooth wrinkles and improve facial features become increasingly popular.
“I think there has been a dramatic change in the way older people look,” chief executive Flemming Ørnskov said in an interview with the Financial Times, citing the fact that more people are living healthy lives for longer.
The company had noted a “significant increase” in consumers over the age of 60 opting for aesthetic treatments. “People live another 10 to 15 years and want to look the way they feel, not how they would physically look if they hadn’t taken care of themselves,” Ørnskov added.
Galderma is the world’s second-largest player in the $9 billion neuromodulatory injections and fillers market, after U.S. firm AbbVie. The former are toxins that relax facial muscles to reduce wrinkles, and the latter are gel-like injections that make the skin look plumper.
Weight loss drugs such as Ozempic are also an important sales driver, Ørnskov said. Many dermatologists report that patients are seeking treatment for their so-called “ozempic face” in regions where GLP-1 medications are more commonly used, such as the Middle East and North America.
“When they lose eight to ten kilos or more, they start to show facial sagging,” Ørnskov said. “People have to use a filler there.”
Galderma’s most popular weight-loss bulking agent for drug users is a product called Sculptra, which was originally developed for HIV patients who were experiencing rapid weight loss, he added.
When it went public in March last year, Galderma raised around 2.3 billion francs ($2.7 billion) at a price of 53 francs per share. The company’s shares have more than doubled to 108.50 francs per share.
Galderma’s net sales rose 9.2 percent to $3.2 billion in the nine months ended September 2024, driven by its two largest businesses, dermatological skin care – which includes everyday skin care brands such as Cetaphil – and aesthetic injectables. The third division, prescription drugs, lagged behind, posting sales growth of 2.9 percent in the period.
US 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, reflecting subdued consumer demand in the market.
The company hopes to boost U.S. sales with the launch of its new product Nemluvio for the treatment of atopic dermatitis, which was recently approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. About 7 percent of people in the U.S. suffer from eczema, the company said.
Despite the U.S. economic slowdown, Galderma began to close the gap with its main competitor in the injectables category, AbbVie, which invented the famous Botox brand and has the leading market position in the category, Galderma said.
According to Jefferies analysts, AbbVie’s Botox and Galderma’s Dysport are the leading neuromodulators, with Dysport used in 80 percent of doctor’s offices in the U.S. compared to Botox’s 20 percent.
According to Galderma, Sculptra is now the second largest filler brand in the United States. The company has just launched a new filler specifically designed for people who want to have better bone structure, for example men who want a stronger jaw.
The Swiss group was founded by Nestlé in 2019 sold its skin health division to a consortium of investors led by private equity firm EQT for $10 billion after the food giant concluded it wasn’t a good fit for its primarily nutrition-focused portfolio.
Nestlé previously operated the skincare 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.
L’Oréal in August acquired back a 10 percent share in the company. Analysts said the move shows renewed interest in the aesthetic injectables category, which has far outpaced other consumer categories.
