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Young children and weight-loss drug users suffering from “facial sagging” are flocking to injectable beauty treatments and boost sales, according to dermatology group Galderma.
A Swiss company, which was spun off from Nestlé in 2019 and went public last yearhas seen its share price rise as the popularity of products designed to smooth wrinkles and improve facial features gathers pace.
“I think there's a big change in how older people look,” CEO Flemming Ørnskov said in an interview with the Financial Times, nodding to the fact that more people are living healthier lives for longer.
The company has seen a “significant rise” in consumers over the age of 60-and choosing beauty treatments. “People live another 10 to 15 years and they want to look how they feel, not how they might look physically if they didn't take care of themselves,” Ørnskov added.
Galderma is the world's second largest player in the $9bn market for neuromodulator injections and filters after US company AbbVie. The former are toxins that relax the muscles in the face to reduce wrinkles, and the latter, gel-like injections used to make the skin look smoother.
Weight loss drugs like Ozempic are also an important driver of sales, Ørnskov said, and many dermatologists report that patients want a treatment called “Ozempic face” in areas where there is a high penetration of drugs using GLP-1s. such as the Middle East and North America.
“If they lose eight to 10 kilos or more, they start to show faces,” says Ørnskov. “There, people will have to use filler.”
Galderma's most popular filler among weight loss drug users is a product called Sculptra, which was originally developed for HIV patients who experienced rapid weight loss, he added.
In its initial public offering in March last year, Galderma raised about SFr2.3bn ($2.7bn) at a price of SFr53 a share. Shares in the company doubled to SFr108.50 a share.
Galderma's net sales grew by 9.2 per cent to $3.2bn in the nine months to September 2024, driven by its two main divisions, dermatological skincare – which includes everyday skincare brands such as Cetaphil – and aesthetic injectables. Its third segment, medical treatment, left behind, and sales grew by 2.9 percent during this period.
US sales, which make up 40 percent of the group's total, grew by 2.5 percent in the first three quarters, compared to 14.5 percent worldwide due to low consumer demand in the market.
The company hopes to increase US sales with the launch of its new product, Nemluvio, which treats atopic dermatitis, and has recently received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration. About 7 percent of the US population suffers from eczema, the company said.
Despite the US slowdown, Galderma said it was beginning to close the gap with its main competitor in the injectables category, AbbVie, which developed the popular Botox brand and holds the leading market position in the sector.
According to Jefferies analysts, AbbVie's Botox and Galderma's Dysport are the leading neuromodulators with Dysport used by 80 percent of US doctors compared to 20 for Botox.
Galderma says Sculptra is now the second largest filler in the US. It has just launched a new filler designed specifically for people who want to look like they have better bone structure, for example men who want the appearance of a strong jaw.
The Swiss group was founded in 2019 when Nestlé sold its skin health division to an investor consortium led by private equity firm EQT for $10bn, after the food giant decided it was no match for its nutrition-focused portfolio.
Nestlé previously ran the skin care unit as a joint venture with L'Oréal but took full control in 2014, transferring 2.6bn of its shares to the French cosmetics group.
August L'Oréal it also acquired a 10 percent stake in the company. Analysts say the move reflected renewed interest in the aesthetic injection category, which has been more active than other consumer categories.