ATX-101, an experimental drug made by California-based Kythera Biopharmaceuticals, is injected into the skin over a series of treatments spaced no less than one month apart.

 

The drug is a type of deoxycholic acid - a naturally-occurring molecule³ that helps the body break down fat, according to Kythera's website.

 

It acts 'immediately on targeted fat cells' but is 'rapidly cleared' from the chin, leaving surrounded tissue largely unaffected, Kythera claims.

 

It says fat under the chin is influenced by ageing and genetics, and can often not be changed by diet and exercise alone.

 

While this area of the face is important to patients, it is undertreated, according to Kythera.

 

ATX-101 not yet been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the body that regulates medicines and cosmetics⁴ in the U.S.

 

But in clinical trials the injections were tested on more than 1,600 people, with 90 per cent reporting it reduced the fat under their chin after two years, Kythera said.

 

As part of the trial, ATX-101 was injected up to four or six times, based on the amount and volume of the fat under the chin.

 

However, common side effects included pain in the chin, numbness⁵, bruising⁶, swelling⁷, redness, firmness, itching⁸, a burning or prickling sensation and nodules.

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