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Botox inventor failed to make a fortune out of her wrinkle-reducing miracle because she and her husband could not patent the anti-ageing procedure they discovered in Canada, revealed British media.
Former eye doctor Jean Carruthers' eureka moment came in 1987 when she spotted that the injections she used to stop eye spasms also smoothed facial lines.
Then, her British-born husband Alastair Carruthers tested the toxin on the couple's receptionist, reported the Sunday Mirror.
"She had remarkable frown lines and said, ''Oh sure, treat me.''
"We had only to see her to say, ''Oh, this does work.'' You could see a huge difference," News.com.au quoted Jean Carruthers, 61, as saying.
Four years later, the couple wrote a paper on their findings - and Botox is now the world''s most popular cosmetic procedure.
But the Carruthers, who run a cosmetic surgery clinic in Vancouver, Canada, never patented their work and missed out on fame, fortune and the thanks of younger-looking people worldwide.
"It has changed so many lives, including my own . . .I missed out on that [the fortune], but we have had the most enriching experience using it on patients over the years. Women feel so much better about themselves when they look good," she said.
Image: Jean Carruthers