Formulation composition of botulinum toxins in clinical use.

The use of botulinum toxin (BoNT) has now become the treatment of choice for a range of debilitating neuromuscular diseases and for aesthetic medicine. BoNT products are licensed as prescription-only medicines by the health authorities of each country in which they are approved. The authors describe here the current status with regard to BoNT formulations and detail more precisely what is in each product. These data have been presented previously, in a fragmented way, in papers that discuss characteristics of the BoNT products but not the formulations in detail. This information is essential for clinicians in order to enable informed decisions about which products they wish to use clinically. The authors have also examined developments that are either in progress or likely to occur, based on currently available information.