The FDA on Wednesday announced the approval of Johnson & Johnson's new dermal filler, Evolence, for the correction of moderate to deep facial wrinkles and folds, such as nasolabial folds.

The new collagen-based structural dermal filler has been available in Canada, Europe, Israel, South Korea, and Russia since 2004. It will be introduced in the US during the second half of 2008.

The company says Evolence is made from “naturally sourced" porcine collagen — translation: it’s made from pig tendons. The filler is based on Glymaterix technology, which is cross-linked with collagen using the natural sugar, D-Ribose.

Notably, this dermal filler does not require a pre-test and, according to the company, delivers immediate results.

Barry AS Lycka, MD, an Alberta, Canada-based derm, has used the filler, which is not broken down by the body as quickly as bovine collagen, for around one year. "I have Evolence patients who are holding up beautifully after six months," he said in an interview with Plasticsurgery.com. "We know from testing that Evolence lasts at least six months; I suspect it may last a year or two and then slowly break down."

Lycka says the best use for Evolence is in reducing the nasolabial folds, in the lips, and under under the eyes; an area that tends to become hollow and darken with age.

Johnson & Johnson is the first of the old-line big pharma players to get into the dermal-filler business in the US, according to a report in the Wall Street Journal.

Evolence was developed by ColBar LifeScience, an Israeli company J&J bought two years ago. The Aesthetics Group of OrthoNeutrogena, a division of Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., will market this product in the US.