Injection to Fix Double Chin May Be Available Soon

A biotech company thinks it has the answer to double chins—an injection, of course. An FDA advisory panel has cleared a treatment from Kythera Pharmaceuticals called ATX-101, reports the Wall Street Journal. If the FDA goes along with the recommendation, as it usually does, the injections could win final approval in May and be available from dermatologists a month or two later. Reuters offers this explanation of how it works: The drug "is a formulation of synthetically derived deoxycholic acid, which destroys fat under the chin, leaving surrounding tissue largely unaffected." It would be the first such treatment designed to remove specific fat deposits, and the company's stock has tripled since it went public in 2012.

Kythera hasn't released pricing, but the treatment—actually a series of shots that would be given in a doctor's office—would presumably be cheaper than than below-the-chin liposuction, which can cost more than $5,000. “My biggest concern is once it is approved, people will start to use it for other areas of the face or for larger volumes (of fat) in other areas,” the president of the Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery tells NBC News. In the wrong hands, it could make things worse, he adds. The FDA panel gave the green light after 19 clinical trials involving 2,600 patients. (When the Quaker Oats guy got a makeover, his double chin went away.)