AbbVie took the top two TV drug ad spending spots with its immunology duo Rinvoq and Skyrizi, respectively, in December as it looks to cement its place as the pharma with the deepest direct-to-consumer pockets.
AbbVie spent nearly identical amounts on all DTCs for each drug: $39.8 million for Rinvoq across its five spots and $39.7 million for Skyrizi across seven spots. In November, the positions of the two drugs were swapped, with Skyrizi taking the top spot and Rinvoq coming in second.
Coming in third place was rival Dupixent, marketed by Sanofi and Regeneron, with a much smaller $27.6 million spent across its ads for the blockbuster med.
And Pfizer has suddenly started to spend big on its new RSV vaccine Abrysvo, coming in fourth place with a strong spend of $18 million last month, more than five times the $4 million it spent in November.
In fifth place is another surprise—and one we haven’t seen in 2023—in Biohaven/Pfizer’s migraine treatment Nurtec ODT, with $14.6 million spent. The majority of that ($12.1 million) went to one ad “Treat and Prevent Migraines.”
In the sixth position is another med not often seen in these top listings, in the form of Incyte’s vitiligo topical treatment Opzelura. The pharma spent all $13.9 million on just one ad in December titled “When Dreams Become Pursuits.”
Returning to the seventh place is an old top-10 contender, Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim's type 2 diabetes drug, Jardiance. That starts a trend for both type 2 diabetes drugs and for typical top 10 listers, with eighth, ninth and tenth places taken up by Novo Nordisk’s Ozempic and Rybelsus, and Lilly’s new rival med Mounjaro, respectively.
We also ended the year with a bang as total spending on the top 10 pharmaceutical drug ads in December reached a meaty $203.6 million, one of the highest single monthly totals of 2023.
This compares to November, which saw a healthy $201 million and the $221.8 million we saw from the top 10 ads in October. Before the last quarter of the year, typical monthly spend from across the top 10 had only been around $140 million.
Check out the top 10 below, as compiled by real-time TV ad trackers iSpot.TV for Fierce Pharma Marketing.
1. Rinvoq
Movement: Up one spot
What is it? AbbVie’s JAK inhibitor immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $39.8 million (up from $31.4 million in November)
Number of spots: Five (one eczema, two arthritis, two UC/Crohn’s)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Mountains” (est. $20.2 million)
2. Skyrizi
Movement: Down one spot
What is it? AbbVie’s Sanofi and Regeneron’s immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $39.7 million (up from $36.6 million in November)
Number of spots: Seven (two Crohn’s, three psoriasis, two psoriatic arthritis)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Sailing” (est. $17.2 million)
3. Dupixent
Movement: No change
What is it? Sanofi and Regeneron’s immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $27.6 million (up from $21.3 million in November)
Number of spots: Ten (six eczema, four asthma)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Lei Ann and Cristal” (est. $8.7 million)
4. Abrysvo
Movement: Not listed last month
What is it? Pfizer’s RSV vaccine
Est. national TV ad spend: $18 million (up from $4 million in November)
Number of spots: Two
Biggest-ticket ad: “Six Million Breaths” (est. $10.4 million)
5. Nurtec ODT
Movement: Not listed last month
What is it? Biohaven/Pfizer’s migraine treatment
Est. national TV ad spend: $14.6 million (up from $11.1 million in November)
Number of spots: Three
Biggest-ticket ad: “Treat and Prevent Migraines” (est. $12.1 million)
6. Opzelura
Movement: Not listed last month
What is it? Incyte’s vitiligo topical treatment
Est. national TV ad spend: $13.9 million (up from $5.5 million in November)
Number of spots: One
Biggest-ticket ad: “When Dreams Become Pursuits” (est. $13.9 million)
7. Jardiance
Movement: No movement
What is it? Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim’s type 2 diabetes drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $13.3 million (up from $13.2 million in November)
Number of spots: One
Biggest-ticket ad: “Musical: Bus” (est. $13.3 million)
8. Ozempic
Movement: Not listed last month
What is it? Novo Nordisk’s injectable type 2 diabetes drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $13 million (up from $10.5 million in November)
Number of spots: One
Biggest-ticket ad: “Discover the Ozempic Tri-Zone: Rock Climbing” (est. $13.0 million)
9. Rybelsus
Movement: Not listed last month
What is it? Novo Nordisk’s oral type 2 diabetes drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $12.2 million (up from $4 million in November)
Number of spots: One
Biggest-ticket ad: “Need to Get Your A1C Down?” (est. $12.2 million)
10. Mounjaro
Movement: Not listed last month
What is it? Eli Lilly’s type 2 diabetes drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $11.5 million (up from $7.6 million in November)
Number of spots: Four
Biggest-ticket ad: “What If: Julian” (est. $8.9 million)