Merz CEO Philip Burchard talks to YSTYLE about the business and science of beauty.
Suddenly, the idea of having “something done” doesn’t seem so taboo. Now that influential personalities like veteran actress and media executive Charo Santos-Concio and Miss Universe 2015 and host Pia Wurtzbach own up to their acts of cosmetic, er, self-love, uploading photos of themselves getting Ultherapy and raving about its results on social media, the thinking seems to be: if you have the means, why shouldn’t you?
Santos-Concio and Wurtzbach are the latest to join the German company’s local roster of brand ambassadors. Having just had treatments in the past month, they’re set to become even more beautiful within the next six months. Ultherapy promises a non-invasive lifting effect using ultrasound energy to stimulate the body’s natural healing process, therefore jumpstarting collagen production. Clocking in one million treatments worldwide last year, Ultherapy has become a popular choice in the Philippines since it was launched locally two years ago.
Mother company Merz has gone from launching one of the first anti-aging creams and beauty supplements in history to creating the first topical contraceptive and developing a drug for the treatment of Alzheimer’s and dementia in its 110 years of existence. With CEO Philip Burchard’s leadership, the family-owned pharmaceutical company has focused on aesthetic medicine for the past six years.
The company recently celebrated this milestone in Manila with the introduction of Santos-Concio and Wurtzbach as ambassadors. We sat down with Burchard as well as Asia Pacific Medical Affairs executive director and country manager Jorge Libanan to learn more about the game-changing group of companies.
YSTYLE: First of all, have you tried Ultherapy?
PHILIP BURCHARD: I have. Twice. It takes a bit of time to show an effect. Well, some people feel tightening immediately, but for the collagen to rebuild, it takes some time. You almost don’t notice, it goes so slow because it’s very natural, but when I look at “before and after” pictures with six months in between, I really see a difference. I was impressed by the results. It’s been two years. I should have it again. It’s recommended to do it once a year, so it’s time for me to go to my doctor and do it again.
As a longtime pharmaceutical executive behind products that save lives, why is the pursuit of beauty — often deemed frivolous — worthwhile for Merz?
Merz CEO Philip Burchard (sixth from the left) with Ultherapy’s newest brand ambassadors Pia Wurtzbach and Charo Santos-Concio (center) and Merz Asia Pacific head of legal and compliance Alvin Ng, Merz Asia Pacific regional commercial director Conway Rappa, Merz Philippines country manager Jorge Libanan,, Merz Asia Pacific chief executive officer Lawrence Siow, Merz regional medical affairs executive director Dr. Owen Sunga, Merz Asia Pacific CFO Dawn Neo
I ask the same question. “You used to be a clinical dermatologist, now you’re in beauty. Tell me why?” I have learned from physicians how important this can be for their patients. When I started with the company, there was a physician who gave me this example of a patient she had who got into some personal trouble — lost her job, got divorced, and was pretty much depressed, sitting at home, didn’t know what to do — and it showed in her face. Her friend told her to go to an aesthetic dermatologist and get herself a treatment. This physician did a few things, used Xeomin to take away the Glabella (frown) lines and a little bit of filler. Looking again in the mirror had a powerful impact on the person’s psyche. It helped her gain some initiative again, to go out, get a job, call on her friends and not hide in her house. The impact aesthetic medicine can have on a patient’s psychology and wellbeing can be huge. These physicians are giving a great service to their patients. That’s a cause worth fighting for.
We have the beauty and fashion aspect to it and it is also true science. We have to develop the products, do the clinical trials, get approval with medical authorities; we have to conduct the science, we have to train the physicians because it’s a medical activity that we’re doing. They have to have a very high level of training to get good outcomes. When you manufacture these products, you have to keep top manufacturing standards. FDA and all the European, Asian and Filipino authorities all request pharmaceutical medical device standards. It is something that’s taken seriously.
What would you say has been Merz’s greatest achievement over the last 110 years?
Merz is a company that has invented and reinvented itself several times. It has been different businesses over 110 years. It’s always been in the beauty business in different forms. It’s always been a beauty business and it’s come back to that. It was over the last five to six years that we decided we should go back to aesthetic medicine as our main business and core strategic business and so far that has been successful. This has happened several times over the last 110 years, as you can imagine, and now it is happening again with aesthetic medicine.
And with your leadership since 2012, what has been the greatest challenge?
The greatest challenge has also been what I just described. There could’ve been several possibilities and we decided for aesthetic medicine. We were already present in North America and Europe but for other important regions like Latin America and Asia Pacific we were not so developed. These are strong regions, so we created, for one, our regional office in Singapore led by Lawrence and started entering a number of countries — among others, the Philippines, led by Jorge — to concentrate our efforts. All around the world we’ve introduced new products and acquired a number of companies and developed them in our own research and development as we enter new regions. Today we’re the third largest aesthetic medicine company in the world and we’re growing very fast. Things don’t always go according to plan but overall it’s a success.
‘The impact aesthetic medicine can have on a patient’s psychology and wellbeing can be huge,’ says Ultherapy CEO Philip Burcard. ‘That’s a cause worth fighting for.’
What have you learned, entering the Asian market?
OWEN SUNGA: Basically, it’s about adapting to variations of anatomical structure. The structure of the bone of the Asian as compared to a Caucasian is different, so some or a majority in Asia would go for early treatment. They are also more (focused on) changing those structures as opposed to a Caucasian, who would go for the aging part. Whatever we do in other parts of the world, it’s aligned with what we are expecting in terms of outcomes when it comes to Asians.
With a global perspective, how would you describe the Filipino market and why do you think Merz has been successful in the Philippines?
BURCHARD: It’s a large population gaining in affluence and education; therefore, it’s a market where there are a lot of professional people for whom their physical appearance is important. The Filipina is famous for being a beautiful woman and that itself is interesting for us as an aesthetic company.
Because of this beauty, no one wants to seem like they try too hard, to look like they’ve had anything done.
JORGE LIBANAN: In the past, Filipinos were a little bit shy about getting treatments. We’re a bit conservative but the desire to look good is still there. Since we launched Ultherapy, there’s been an increase in interest because it’s US FDA-cleared and non-invasive. It can be done during lunchtime and have a lasting effect on skin tightening.
BURCHARD: With Ultherapy, you cannot over-treat. If you apply too much toxin or filler is done excessively, you’ll see it in the patient’s face. Ultherapy’s effect is on the body’s own collagen that is created naturally by the body itself. It cannot create too much collagen. The effect comes slowly, not all of a sudden, because it’s a natural build-up. Patients who want a natural outcome appreciate it. It’s a good treatment for men because men don’t want to seem that they got treatment so it’s a benefit.
As for cases of the dreaded frozen or puffy face, what does Merz do to prevent these?
BURCHARD: When we sell a product to physicians, before they can start using it, they get proper training. Training of the physicians is extremely important to get the full benefit of the product that it’s applied in the correct amount, correct duration, and correct location. For Ulthera, a physician had to be trained to understand the layers of the skin through the screen as well as the bones, nerves and vessels they should stay away from. If we don’t do that, we might not get as good of a result. We stay close to the physician. We come back regularly; see how it’s going, see if they need any retraining or new materials for themselves or the patient. It doesn’t end with selling a product. It’s only the beginning of an ongoing process of education.
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