韩国肉毒素厂商以低价策略扩大美国医美市场份额

Korean botulinum toxin makers are rapidly expanding their share of the U.S. aesthetics market by leading with "value for money." Armed with prices 20 to 35 percent cheaper than "Botox," the premium brand from Allergan, they are penetrating the market, and the standing of K-toxins in the United States is growing increasingly solid.
According to securities analysts on the 28th, Daewoong Pharmaceutical will announce its second-quarter earnings on the 29th. The market expects second-quarter revenue and operating profit of 431.6 billion won and 67.8 billion won, respectively. These figures represent increases of 6.5 percent and 17.3 percent from a year earlier.
Driving the earnings uptrend is the botulinum toxin "Nabota." Securities analysts forecast Nabota's second-quarter revenue will reach 102.5 billion won. Of this, exports are expected to amount to 93 billion won, up 52.5 percent from the same period a year earlier, leading improvements in both scale and profitability.
Behind Nabota's growth is its expanding share of the U.S. market. Evolus, which handles U.S. sales, is targeting the market with a strategy of supplying Nabota at about 70 percent of the price of premium brands. For glabellar frown line improvement, the most commonly performed procedure in the United States, a 20-unit Botox treatment costs about $340, while Nabota can be administered for about $220. For U.S. consumers, this means they can expect an equivalent level of treatment effect at a cost up to 35 percent cheaper than Allergan's Botox.
The strategy of leading with price competitiveness has translated into an expanding market share. Nabota's U.S. market share grew from about 4 percent in 2019, its first year on the market, to about 14 percent last year. Analysts say that as the U.S. toxin market entered maturity, consumers' heightened price sensitivity worked positively for Nabota's growth.
Hugel's "Letybo" is also accelerating its push into the U.S. market. To expand in the United States, Hugel recruited Carrie Strom, a former Allergan executive, as its global chief executive officer late last year, and then launched its direct-sales system in the United States in earnest starting on the 9th of this month. Hugel is also using prices 20 to 35 percent cheaper than Botox as its weapon.
"In the first half, there were some concerns about initial investment costs for direct sales, such as labor costs, but earnings are expected to come out favorably," a Hugel official said. "We will strengthen our hybrid sales model that combines indirect and direct sales, and raise our share of the U.S. market." Hugel will announce its second-quarter earnings on August 8.
In a report, IBK Investment & Securities forecast that "Letybo's U.S. revenue will reach 75.6 billion won this year and continue to grow nearly twofold every year going forward," adding that "U.S. revenue in 2028 will reach 221.8 billion won." It also predicted that its U.S. market share would expand from 3 percent in 2025, its first year of entry, to 10 percent by 2028.
According to market research firm Grand View Research, the U.S. botulinum toxin market is expected to expand from $5.4905 billion in 2025 to $11.5311 billion by 2033. The compound annual growth rate is projected to reach 9.8 percent.
"The U.S. toxin market has long been dominated by Allergan's Botox, but recently products with price competitiveness are rapidly widening their share of the market," an industry official said. "As K-toxin makers establish themselves as an alternative equipped with both price and quality, their presence in the U.S. market will grow even larger."