Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp’s newer anti-wrinkle drug Dysport proved significantly better than Botox at improving crow’s feet in a small clinical study, a finding that could give frown lines to market leader Allergan Inc. Allergan’s Botox (onabutulinumtoxin A) was approved by U.S. regulators in 2002 to treat wrinkles between the eyebrows, while Dysport (abobutulinumtoxin A) won approval for the same indication in 2009. The drugs are similar forms of botulinum toxin, a chemical that can block nerve impulses.
