Medici aesthetics and artistic patronage

Medicis Aesthetics

SWOT Analysis and Product/Price Comparison of Medicis Aesthetics

Strengths

One of the primary strengths possessed by Medicis Aesthetics is their position as a subsidiary of Medicis Pharmaceutical Corporation. This provides Medicis Aesthetics with a fair amount of security and capital backing when compared to their competitors, which in turn translates to better growth potential through research and development as well as through better enabling the firm to weather financial hardships due to internal or external causes. The product class specialization of the company, which focuses on dermatological and aesthetic pharmaceuticals development and distribution, is also a great strength for Medicis Aestehtics, as it allows the company to fully explore and rapidly innovate when compared to most of its direct competitors -- often single departments within larger companies whose projects likely entail oversight by many different individuals with different positions and different stakes in the company, splitting focus for these competitors.

Weaknesses

Unfortunately, the product specialization that Medicis Aesthetics engages in, while allowing them to efficiently innovate and progress, also leaves them more susceptible to market- and industry-specific issues. This is the company's primary weakness when compared to its competitors; all of these companies have the same internal weaknesses comprised of the cost of new pharmaceutical development, testing, and approval before a profit can be turned. As its specialization is the company's primary point of difference with its competitors, it is both an asset and a liability even when properly managed.

Opportunities

The current (or perhaps recently passed) recession has provided a tremendous opportunity to companies able to capitalize on a soon-to-be-rebuilding customer base. As the products manufactured and distributed by Medicis Aesthetics are largely discretionary items, used for aesthetic rather than necessary medical purposes, sales would have diminished during the recession and the tightening of consumer spending. If the company can position itself as the industry leader, through promotional and marketing campaigns as well as through the quality of the products offered, attracting new and returning customers as the economy improves and discretionary spending rises again will be much easier. There is no time like the present for rapid growth in terms of customer numbers, that is, and Medici Aeshetics is in a better capital situation to exploit this opportunity.

Threats

Luckily, Medicis Aesthetics' capital position as a subsidiary of Medicis Pharmaceutical Corporation also enables it to better weather external threats to the company, which certainly exists for the industry as a whole. Threats of litigation are a very real factor of how this industry does business, especially with certain product lines. In addition, the industry is now facing the threat of a prolonged recession, which many analysts claim we are only in the beginnings of. If this proves to be the case, Medicis Aesthetics and its competitors will be faced with an ever-shrinking consumer pool. This will make competition fiercer and make profitability highly dependent on materials and labor costs.

Product Comparison

Two of Medici Aesthetics' most popular and currently profitable products are Restylane and Perlane, both of which are dermal fillers (non-surgical wrinkle removers) composed of hyaluronic acid. Though patented and using a relatively unique mechanism to achieve its results, these two related products are far from the only dermal fillers or medical wrinkle removal products/systems/procedures on the market, making competition quite fierce in this arena. The same is true of its Triaz anti-acne medicated foaming wipes, though the company's Solodyn, an oral antibiotic for the treatment of acne and acne infections in adolescents and adults, is more unique and faces less competition from similar products in the industry manufactured by competing organizations.