Injections of Kythera’s ATX 101 may help reduce pockets of submental fat, according to new Phase 3 data presented at the annual meeting of the the American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (ASAPS) in Vancouver.

Patients who received injections of ATX-101 showed statistically significant reductions in submental fat, compared to placebo as assessed by a 5-point clinician-reported submental fat rating scale and a 7-point subject satisfaction rating scale. These improvements were also confirmed by caliper measurements.

Investigator Leroy Young, MD, a plastic surgeon in St. Louis, tells Plastic Surgery Practice: “It clearly works. The data speak for themselves.”


ATX-101 is being developed by Bayer and Kythera. It is a proprietary formulation of synthetic sodium deoxycholate. It melts fat by disrupting localized fat cell membranes. The fat is subsequently eliminated. It is only being studied for reduction of submental fat. Adverse events were mild to moderate, and transient. The most common were pain, swelling, numbness, and bruising, the study showed.

If approved, the injections may help fill a newly anointed niche. The advent of iphones and video chatting has sired an increase in patient demand for procedures that address the chin. In fact, recent data from the American Society of Plastic Surgeons shows a 71% spike in chinplants. Plastic surgeon Robert K. Sigal, MD, of the Austin-Weston Center for Cosmetic Surgery in Reston, Virginia coined the term FaceTime Facelift for a procedure designed to address this area.


For more information about ATX-101, visit
KYTHERA Biopharmaceuticals, Inc.