Botulinum toxin drugs: brief history and outlook

The global botulinum toxin (BT) market is currently undergoing rapid changes: this may be the time to review the history and the future of BT drug development. Since the early 1990s Botox® and Dysport® dominated the international BT market. Later, Myobloc®/NeuroBloc®, a liquid BT type B drug, came out, but failed. Xeomin® is the latest major BT drug. It features removal of complexing proteins and improved neurotoxin purity. Several new BT drugs are coming out of Korea, China and Russia. Scientific challenges for BT drug development include modification of BT’s duration of action, its transdermal transport and the design of BT hybrid drugs for specific target tissues. The increased competition will change the global BT market fundamentally and a re-organisation according to large indication groups, such as therapeutic and cosmetic applications, might occur.