Galderma Announces Formation of Women in Aesthetics Leadership Council

Galderma Laboratories, LP is forming the Women in Aesthetics Leadership Council, a new multi-disciplinary group of advisory council members, comprised of distinguished current and future female leaders in the field of medical aesthetics, committed to working together to empower women across the nation to succeed, the company explains.

“In most industries in the US women hold just 25 percent of senior leadership positions, lagging significantly behind their male counterparts, while women in the healthcare field hold 49 percent of these top posts,” says Alisa Lask, Vice President and General Manager of the US Aesthetic Business. “Our goal is to accelerate the trend of women holding leadership roles in medical societies, conducting clinical research, supporting training organizations, and to foster support for female focused aesthetic business ownership.”

The Women in Aesthetics Leadership Council is comprised of clinicians, clinical trial investigators, CEOs, business owners and practice managers. These current and emerging female leaders in the aesthetics industry recently served as expert consultants in a series of advisory boards in markets across the country where Council members gave feedback, offering insights that will guide the development of programs and resources to support female-led practices, businesses and research projects.

“I am honored to be part of this select group of leaders who are passionate about increasing opportunities for women's advancement in aesthetics,” said Sheila Nazarian, MD, founder of Nazarian Plastic Surgery. “Our mission is to develop and share valuable approaches that open doors for a new generation of female leaders across the industry while also enhancing skillsets of members in this Council so that we all reach our greatest potential together.”

The foundation of the Women in Aesthetics Leadership Council is the first step in building a shared vision, collaborating to execute practical solutions and creating a strong roadmap for future leadership in medical aesthetics, according to Galderma.

Follow #womeninaesthetics for updates on the Women in Aesthetics Leadership Council.

HydraFacial Company Partners with Alastin Skincare

Alastin Skincare's TriHex-Pro Skin Booster Serum is now available at HydraFacial providers across the US.

The key ingredient in the TriHex-Pro Skin Booster Serum is Alastin's proprietary TriHex Technology, a patented peptide blend that supports skin's natural ability to produce new healthy collagen and elastin.

“Integrating Alastin's proprietary formulas with the innovative technology of the HydraFacial treatment delivers endless customizable skin health solutions and exceptional results,” says Clint Carnell, Chief Executive Officer of The HydraFacial Company in a news release.

Suneva Grows Aesthetics Portfolio with New Deals

Suneva Medical, Inc. is partnering with Healeon Medical, Inc. and Puregraft, LLC to add two new products to their aesthetics portfolio.

Healeon Medical of Newbury Park, CA has partnered with Suneva Medical for certain markets on their proprietary PRP technology, featuring a high platelet capture design and a long-term exclusive relationship on Healeon's next generation technologies arriving to the aesthetics market mid-2019.

Suneva Medical has a distribution partnership with Bimini Technologies for certain markets on their proprietary Puregraft fat grafting system for use within the regenerative skin and body care industry and an exclusive relationship on their next generation technology scheduled to launch in early to mid-year 2019. Puregraft, LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Bimini Technologies. The Bimini portfolio also includes Kerastem, LLC and Aurastem, LLC.

“The combination of our world class commercial organization and these unique and innovative aesthetic products strategically positions us for long term growth as a leader in the regenerative aesthetic market,” says Preston Romm, CEO, Suneva Medical. “These new products will add significant breadth to Suneva's product portfolio.”

Leadership Change at Cutera; Preliminary Financial Results

Cutera has announced the resignation of James Reinstein as President, Chief Executive Officer, and member of its Board of Directors, effective immediately. The Board has appointed Cutera's Chief Operating Officer, Jason Richey, as Interim CEO.

J. Daniel Plants, Chairman of Cutera, said, “Cutera's Board takes seriously its responsibility to act on behalf of, and in the best interests of, the Company's stockholders. We are dissatisfied with the Company's operational results and stock price performance in 2018. While we appreciate Mr. Reinstein's efforts over the past two years, it's time to seek new leadership at Cutera.”

The Board has formed a CEO Search Committee that will be chaired by Director Gregory Barrett. The Committee will retain an external executive search firm to assist it in conducting a national search for a permanent CEO.

Cutera also provided preliminary, unaudited financial results for 2018. Cutera expects revenues for full year 2018 to be approximately $161 million to $163 million, representing six to eight percent year-over-year growth. The company plans to release fourth quarter and full year 2018 financial results on February 20, 2019 after market close.

Real Housewife of NYC Named New Coolsculpting Spokesperson

Bravo's “The Real Housewives of New York City” Sonja Morgan is the face of Coolscuplting's new “Let's Get Real About Self-Care” campaign.

Ms. Morgan joins CoolSculpting in its mission to encourage women across the country by moving self-care to the top of their to-do list, including learning more about personalized body contouring. She will share her self-care tips and her own personal CoolSculpting story. She will appear in marketing materials, digital advertising, and on CoolSculpting social channels, as well as participate in public relations activities. A US sweepstakes, offering consumers the chance to win a free treatment, and new television ad will coincide with the start of the partnership in January 2019.

“We're incredibly excited to have Sonja Morgan as the face of our ‘Let's Get Real About Self-Care' program,” says Brent Hauser, Vice President, Sales and Marketing, Body Contouring, Allergan. “Patients want to understand every detail of CoolSculpting—how the treatment feels, what results to expect, and more. With Sonja's help, CoolSculpting will educate women about freezing away stubborn fat and the value of self-care.”

“Outstanding Clearance Rates” for Sebaceous Hyperplasia Facial Lesions Seen with NPS

Pulse Biosciences' Nano-Pulse Stimulation (NPS) technology achieved “outstanding clearance rates” on sebaceous hyperplasia lesions on the face.

Initial data indicate that 221 of 222 (99.5 percent) facial sebaceous hyperplasia lesions treated with NPS energy were rated as clear or mostly clear by clinical investigators 60 days post treatment.

NPS is a non-thermal technology that utilizes ultra-short, nanosecond energy pulses that directly interacts with the physical structure of cells without disrupting the integrity of non-cellular tissues.

This sebaceous hyperplasia study builds upon previous study results showing the safety and clinically meaningful outcomes of NPS treatment to remove seborrheic keratosis lesions. Further, successful elimination of sebaceous hyperplasia lesions substantiates the ability of NPS to penetrate into the dermis and target deeper cellular structures, such as the sebaceous gland, without damaging the surrounding dermis. No adverse events were reported during the course of either the sebaceous hyperplasia study or seborrheic keratosis study.

The sebaceous hyperplasia clinical study enrolled 73 patients, over the course of two months, each with up to four facial lesions. Patients received one or two non-thermal NPS treatments per lesion at five centers in the U.S. The study's primary success measurement was the degree of clearing of benign sebaceous hyperplasia lesions as rated by the investigator at the final study visit. Since these lesions frequently appear on the face, another important outcome assessment was the return of the skin's normal appearance after the lesion was removed. Fully 99.5 percent of the treated lesions were assessed as clear or mostly clear by investigators at the 60- day post-treatment follow-up evaluation. Approximately 92 percent (n=203) of treated lesions were assessed as clear or mostly clear after a single NPS treatment. Patients rated 78 percent of lesion outcomes at study end as satisfied or mostly satisfied. In some cases, mild to moderate post- treatment hyperpigmentation was noted, particularly in patients with higher Fitzpatrick Skin Types.

“We are very excited about our NPS study findings and those of the other four centers because we see many patients in the clinic with sebaceous hyperplasia who opt out of treatment simply because current thermal-based modalities lack reliable efficacy and pose a high risk of damaged skin in the treated area,” says Gilly S. Munavalli, MD, a leading cosmetic and Mohs skin cancer surgeon in Charlotte, NC. “Based on our cumulative clinical experience, NPS represents a reliable and consistent treatment that not only successfully eliminates bothersome sebaceous hyperplasia lesions, but also addresses the underlying cause of the condition by treating the sebaceous gland that resides in the dermis while sparing surrounding non-cellular skin tissue,” he says.

Moreover, “this added benefit of NPS helps reduce oil or sebum production that can contribute to other skin problems like acne,” he says.

In addition to Dr. Munavalli, other investigators in the SH study included laser and cosmetic skin surgeon Suzanne Kilmer, MD of Sacramento, CA; facial plastic surgeon James Newman, MD, Chief of Plastic Surgery at Premier Plastic Surgery Clinics in the San Francisco Bay Area, CA; Thomas Rohrer, MD, dermatologic and Mohs skin cancer surgeon in Boston, MA; and laser and cosmetic dermatologist Brian Zelickson, MD of Minneapolis, MN.

One-on-One with Dermavant's Todd Zavodnick

Todd Zavodnick, a veteran of the dermatology and aesthetics industry, has worked for more than 23 years in specialty pharma/biotech across ophthalmology, dermatology, and aesthetics. He has lived in Asia, Switzerland, Latin America, Brazil, and the US. He was recently named CEO of Dermavant, a biotech company focused primarily on medical dermatology. The company's lead candidate is tapinarof, described by Mr. Zavodnick as “a pipeline in a product when you look at the ability for it to address psoriasis as well as atopic dermatitis. It's a non-steroidal preparation that has biologic-like efficacy and has done extremely well in the phase 2B studies that are published in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology.”

Other assets cover hyperhidrosis, atopic dermatitis, and acne. “I think Dermavant is really the next greatest thing in dermatology, and I think that the physicians that participated in the tapinarof phase 2B trials would convey the same thing.”

The medical dermatology market, including skin cancer, as well as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, acne, and rosacea was $22 Billion in 2017 and is projected to grow in 2024 to close to $43 Billion, Mr. Zavodnick says. In parallel, the $4-5 Billion aesthetics market is expected to grow to $8-9 Billion over the next five years.

With his varied experience, Mr. Zavodnick is aware of differences between medical dermatology and the aesthetics space. “You need to have targeted commercialization to ensure patients have access to your products. And you do need to focus on the regulatory and managed care access that is specific to each market to ensure that your products not only are approved by the FDA, or any regulatory body globally, but that patients have access to them in a reasonable way,” Mr. Zavodnick says. “I think that's been probably the most dynamic change in the marketplace from 2008 to 2019, is that market access has become very different. And it's not been something you can discount as easily; getting the product approved does not mean it's going to be successful.”

Gryphon Acquires Roc Skincare

Gryphon Investors has acquired RoC Skincare from Johnson & Johnson Consumer, Inc. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Gryphon Executive Advisors Steve LaMonte and Michelle Taylor will serve as advisors to RoC, with Mr. Lamonte acting as Executive Chairman. In addition to Mr. LaMonte, Ms. Taylor, along with select individuals from Gryphon, will join the Board of Directors. As part of the carve-out transaction, Mr. LaMonte and Ms. Taylor will be focused on recruiting the go-forward senior management team to lead RoC under Gryphon's ownership.

“RoC has a rich history of skincare solutions innovation stemming from its French pharmacy roots. As the first brand to stabilize Retinol, which is one of the top US dermatologist-recommended cosmetic ingredients for improving the appearance of aging skin, RoC continues to be one of the largest brands solely focused on anti-aging skincare products,” says Matt Farron, Principal at Gryphon. “By leveraging the brand's French pharmacy heritage and track record of clinically proven innovation, we see numerous opportunities to expand RoC's product offering to establish it as a brand with complete skincare solutions leading to increased market share.”

Headquartered in Manhattan, RoC was created in 1957 by French pharmacist Dr. Jean-Charles Lissarrague and has a 60+ year history of revolutionizing the skincare industry. RoC products are primarily manufactured in France.

“We are excited to build on RoC's past to connect with today's customers. We see opportunities to expand the portfolio beyond Retinol and anti-aging, improve product support in international markets, strengthen links with the dermatology community, and drive customers into stores with creative, technology-driven product launches and marketing efforts,” adds LaMonte. “We also plan to boost RoC's engagement with all age groups. In addition to RoC's core customer demographic of women aged 40+, millennials are showing great interest in the category and have responded positively to product trials.”

“Gryphon has a long-standing track record of growing consumer product brands and I'm excited to partner with them for a second investment in the beauty sector to capitalize on one of the most iconic skincare brands in the market today,” Taylor says. “I believe the financial and operational resources we bring will ensure RoC's ability to thrive as a stand-alone company, delivering a world-class brand to new and existing customers.”

Sawaya Partners, LLC was financial advisor to Johnson & Johnson, and Covington & Burling was legal advisor. Luc-Henry Rousselle at LSH Partners was Gryphon Investors' financial advisor and Kirkland & Ellis acted as Gryphon's legal advisor.