ABSTRACT
Captique (also from Inamed) was the second HA approved derived from a bacterial source. Its approval came in December 2004. This product was similar to Hylaform in concentration (5.5 mg/ml) and particle size (500 μm) but lower in molecular weight like Restylane. When Inamed was acquired by Allergan, it too was phased out, but re-emerged in 2008 to be the first dermal filler available with lidocaine. Renamed Prevelle, it is available from Mentor Corporation (Santa Barbara, California, USA). Although Elevess from Anika Therapeutics, Bedford, Massachusetts, USA,. was the first HA-lidocaine combination product to get an FDA approval in 2007, it has only recently become available again since Artes, its distributing company went bankrupt. Re-emerging in July 2009, as Hydrelle from Coapt Systems Inc., Palo Alto, California, USA, it is the highest concentration of HA (28 mg/ml) on the market to date in the United States (4). Like Juvederm, it is not particle sized. Juvederm Ultra and Ultra Plus became available in June 2006. The manufacturer (Allergan Inc., Irvine, California, USA) uses a proprietary process that results in a “smooth cohesive gel” rather than being a uniformly particle-sized suspension. Both products are 24 mg/ml, but the higher degree of crosslinking of the Ultra Plus version results in a more robust and longer lasting dermal filler (5).
