Company wants to market off-label use of Botox injections

Los Angeles, CAAllergan, the company that develops Botox treatment for wrinkles, has filed a lawsuit aimed at lifting the marketing ban of off-label uses for pharmaceuticals.

However, this legal push by Allergan may make some people anxious, especially since the company's cosmetic treatment for wrinkles has been linked to Botox paralysis in the past.

Botox injections are currently approved by the FDA for cosmetic use to treat wrinkles and medically to treat eye-muscle disorders, excessive underarm sweating and cervical dystonia. According to Allergan's suit, the company wants to be allowed to provide doctors with information about using Botox injections for treatments not approved by the FDA, MarketWatch reports.

This includes using Botox to treat bladder problems, muscle spasms and headaches.

Though current laws allow doctors to legally prescribe drugs for off-label uses, it is illegal for drug companies to encourage these off-label uses to physicians.

Caroline Van Hove, an Allergan spokeswoman, told the Los Angeles Times the information the company wants to provide includes benefits of off-label use and safety issues with Botox injections.

"We don't want to promote off-label use, but we need to make sure physicians are using our products in the safest way possible," Van Hove said.