Meet Boey®: Europe Approves the First Short-Acting “Try-Before-You-Commit” Botulinum Toxin (Botox) Treatment

On 17 July 2026, the European Commission approved Boey® (trenibotulinumtoxinE), a new botulinum toxin injection for the temporary improvement of moderate to severe frown lines — the vertical creases that form between the eyebrows at maximum frown, known clinically as glabellar lines. The approval applies across all 30 countries of the European Economic Area, following an earlier green light from Health Canada in June. It comes from Allergan Aesthetics, the AbbVie company behind BOTOX® Cosmetic — so this is very much a product from the established name in the field, rather than a newcomer.

What makes Boey genuinely different isn’t marketing gloss. It is the first and only rapid-onset, short-duration toxin of its kind approved in Europe, and that changes the conversation around anti-wrinkle treatment in an interesting way.

A different kind of toxin

Most anti-wrinkle injections you’ll have heard of — Botox, Azzalure, Bocouture and the like — are based on botulinum toxin type A. Boey is built on botulinum toxin type E, a different serotype that behaves quite differently in the body. It is taken up rapidly by nerve cells and targets a protein called SNAP-25, but the active portion of the molecule has a short half-life.

In plain terms: it gets to work quickly and then clears quickly.

The practical result is a treatment measured in hours and weeks rather than months. In clinical studies, some patients began to see an effect as early as eight hours after injection, with the peak result around day seven. Frown lines then gradually returned to their starting point over roughly two to three weeks.

By contrast, a conventional type A treatment typically takes several days to a fortnight to appear and lasts three to four months.

Why would anyone want a shorter result?

On the face of it, a treatment that fades in a fortnight sounds like a step backwards. But it answers a very real hesitation. Allergan Aesthetics ran a survey of more than 12,000 people across nine countries, including the UK, and found that 80% were open to learning about new treatments to achieve their goals, while 79% wished they could temporarily preview the outcome of an aesthetic treatment before committing to it.

That hesitation — the fear of not liking the result and then being “stuck” with it for months — keeps a lot of curious people from ever booking a first appointment.

Boey is designed precisely for that person: someone considering injectables who would like to experience the effect, see how a softened frown looks and feels in their own face and their own daily life, and then decide whether a longer-lasting treatment is right for them. It is, in effect, a low-commitment introduction — or a short-term option for a specific event or moment — rather than a replacement for traditional toxin.

What the evidence shows

The approval is supported by two randomised, multi-centre, double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase 3 trials (known as M21-500 and M21-508), which together enrolled 725 adults with moderate to severe frown lines. Participants received either Boey or a placebo, and results were assessed by both the treating clinicians and the patients themselves using a standard four-point wrinkle scale. The studies consistently showed onset from around eight hours, a peak effect at day seven, and a return to baseline within two to three weeks.

On safety, the most commonly reported reactions in the trials related to the surrounding muscles: temporary drooping of an eyelid or eyebrow, and a raised outer-brow appearance sometimes called the “Mephisto sign.” Reassuringly, these were uncommon — reported in well under one per cent of people treated. As with any toxin, one further practical point matters: Boey is a distinct product with its own dosing, and Allergan notes that BOTOX® Cosmetic is the only toxin so far clinically tested for safety when used after a Boey treatment.

The bottom line

Boey is an intriguing addition to the anti-wrinkle landscape — not because it does more than existing treatments, but because it does something deliberately less. A result that appears in hours and fades in weeks lowers the barrier for the toxin-curious and gives thoughtful patients a genuine “trial run” before a longer-term commitment. Allergan Aesthetics is now preparing to roll the treatment out across Europe alongside practitioner training, so it will take some time to become widely available in UK clinics.

As always, the most important factor isn’t the product — it’s the assessment behind it. Boey is a prescription medicine and should only ever be administered by a qualified medical professional following a proper consultation, where your goals, your facial anatomy and your suitability are considered together.

If you want a refresher on all of the toxins currently available, have a little peak at our Which Toxin is Which? article.