Medicis Pharmaceutical’s subsidiary Medicis Technologies has received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for its second generation LipoSonix system, designed for non-invasive waist circumference reduction.

The LipoSonix system uses high-intensity focused ultrasound energy to disrupt subcutaneous adipose tissue.

The approval is backed by a multicentre, randomised, sham-controlled and blind study, which showed that treatment with the LipoSonix system was superior to a sham control in reducing waist circumference.

Clinical studies conducted by Medicis Technologies demonstrated an average waist circumference reduction of approximately 2.6cm after a single treatment with the LipoSonix system.

The first generation LipoSonix system is currently available in Canada, the European Union and Japan.