Allergan receives UK approval for Botox against overactive bladder

Allergan has received a licence from the UK's Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency allowing its drug Botox to be used as a treatment for overactive bladder.

The product has been ratified for the management of bladder dysfunctions in adult patients with overactive bladder who are affected by symptoms of urinary incontinence, urgency and frequency and who are not adequately managed with anticholinergics.

Botox is also recommended for the management of these patients by the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in its guidelines on urinary incontinence, making it the only botulinum toxin indicated for the management of bladder dysfunctions in the UK.

It represents the tenth indication for the product in Britain.

Paul Navarre, president of Allergan in Europe, Africa and the Middle East, said: "With two licences for bladder dysfunction as well as ongoing research and development investment, Allergan is emerging as a global speciality leader in urology."

This week, Botox was also approved in the US as a means of temporarily treating moderate to severe lateral canthal lines, which are colloquially referred to as crow's feet.