SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., June 15, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Medicis Pharmaceutical Corporation (NYSE:MRX) ("the Company"), the parent company of Medicis Technologies Corporation and Medicis Aesthetics Canada Ltd., today announced that Health Canada has issued a Medical Device License (MDL) authorizing the sale of the LIPOSONIX(TM) System Model 1 in Canada. The LIPOSONIX system is designed to utilize high intensity focused ultrasound energy to reduce subcutaneous abdominal adipose tissue in the treatment zone to provide a non-invasive, non-surgical approach to body contouring. The Company plans for the LIPOSONIX system to be marketed in Canada by Medicis Aesthetics Canada.
"We are pleased to announce the MDL from Health Canada to market the LIPOSONIX system in Canada," said Jonah Shacknai, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Medicis Pharmaceutical Corporation. "We believe the LIPOSONIX body contouring technology will position Medicis Aesthetics Canada for continued leadership in the popular Canadian aesthetics market by providing an effective and non-invasive procedure for the reduction of subcutaneous abdominal fat. We believe many adults wanting to reduce their waistlines by several centimeters could be potential candidates for the LIPOSONIX treatment."
The LIPOSONIX Technology
The LIPOSONIX system is designed to focus high intensity ultrasound to cause permanent disruption, or ablation, of subcutaneous adipose tissue in the anterior abdomen without damaging the epidermis, dermis or underlying tissues and organs. A custom-designed ultrasound transducer delivers energy across the skin surface at a relatively low intensity, and brings this energy to a high intensity focus at precise depths in the targeted subcutaneous adipose tissue, causing thermal coagulation of the adipose tissue within the focal zone of the ultrasound beam.
Large white blood cells, or macrophage cells, are attracted to the treated area, engulfing and transporting the damaged tissue and lipids through the lymphatic system to the liver, where the lipids are processed by the body's normal biochemical pathways. The damaged tissue in the treated area is resorbed over a period of several weeks, which can yield an aesthetic body contouring effect.
During clinical development, the LIPOSONIX technology has demonstrated effective, non-invasive contouring of the abdomen which:
-- results in little to no patient down time;
-- involves one treatment of approximately one hour; and
-- may reduce waistline circumference by up to several centimeters.
In clinical studies to date, a single LIPOSONIX treatment of approximately one hour duration resulted in an average 2.8 cm reduction in waistline circumference.(1) Results were typically seen in 8 to 12 weeks.(1) Individual results may vary.
The LIPOSONIX technology was developed over a period of nine years by leading engineers, ultrasound experts and physicians with more than 200 years of combined experience in ultrasound technology. Medicis holds and has pending numerous patents in the U.S. and worldwide related to the licensed LIPOSONIX system and technology.
