AbbVie has taken the top two spots in August’s TV drug ad spenders’ list as it pushes down fierce rival Dupixent into third place, according to real-time ad trackers at iSpot.
The Big Pharma’s immunology JAK inhibitor Rinvoq keeps the lead for a second month in a row, with a mighty $33.3 million spend in August. Though this was down on the near $40 million it spent in July, the amount doled out each of these last two months still marks the largest for any drug ad campaign over a month so far this year.
AbbVie also nabbed the second spot with its other new immunology asset Skyrizi, which jumped three spots on where it sat in July, with AbbVie boosting spend by a hearty $5.3 million month over month.
This has pushed Sanofi and Regeneron’s big blockbuster immunology rival Dupixent down into an unusual third place, given that it has typically been top or at least second for much of the year, and took the crown overall in 2021.
This does have a familiar feel, however, as before 2021, AbbVie used to regularly top these TV drug ad spending lists each month and each year with its now-aging immunology blockbuster Humira.
But Humira is nearing a sharp patent cliff, and AbbVie is now positioning both Rinvoq and Skyrizi as a double act replacement for the solo performer, which has been bringing in $20 billion a year, and as the contenders to hit back at Dupixent.
Outside of the top three regulars, we have seen a few oddities this month. In fourth place is Takeda’s GI drug Entyvio, certainly not a regular in these top 10s, with the Japanese pharma spending nearly $10 million more in August than it did in July for just one ad, “Reminders,” with $14.4 million in total spend.
In fifth was a more familiar face in Novo Nordisk’s GLP-1 diabetes drug Ozempic, with the other usual diabetes suspects in Boehringer and Eli Lilly’s Jardiance and Novo’s other GLP-1 med Rybelsus in the eight and ninth positions, respectively.
Pfizer’s Cibinqo made a second appearance in the top 10 for a second month in a row in sixth place, a rarity for the dermatitis med given that before last month it had not featured in these lists.
It’s the same story over at Biohaven, which typically hasn’t gone big on DTC spending, given its relatively small budget compared to bigger pharmas; it has tended to focus more on big awareness campaigns. But in August, Biohaven pushed the boat with its new ad, launched in mid-July, for the migraine treatment and prevention drug Nurtec, spending $6.3 million on the “Nothing Glamorous About Migraines” commercial featuring Nurtec spokeswoman Khloé Kardashian.
And rounding off the top 10 is another rarely seen drug in these lists in the form of Eli Lilly’s breast cancer drug Verzenio, on which the company spent $8.2 million across three spots in August, with just over half that sum going on “Finding My Way Forward,” an ad launched at the start of the year.
Total TV drug ad spend for the top 10 in August was $143.4 million, a healthy jump on July’s $124.2 million and trending higher than the average month in 2022, which has been unusually low compared to previous years.
Both July and August were massively helped by AbbVie’s big spend on Rinvoq, however, with most of the other drugs around $20 million down in terms of spend in August compared to the leader.
Check out iSpot’s top 10 and the biggest-selling ads for August below.
1. Rinvoq
Movement: No change
What is it? AbbVie immunology JAK inhibitor
Est. national TV ad spend: $33.4 million (down from $39.2 million in July)
Number of spots: Five (two arthritis, two eczema, one ulcerative colitis)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Helicopter: Surfing” (est. $15.3 million)
2. Skyrizi
Movement: Up three spots
What is it? AbbVie immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $17.1 million (up from $11.8 million in July)
Number of spots: Three
Biggest-ticket ad: “Kayaking” (est. $8.2 million)
3. Dupixent
Movement: Down one spot
What is it? Regeneron and Sanofi IL-4/13 immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $16.5 million (up from $15.3 million in July)
Number of spots: Six (three eczema, three asthma)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Arsalan, Brittany and Kristy” (est. $4.7 million)
4. Entyvio
Movement: Not listed last month
What is it? Takeda gastrointestinal disease drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $14.4 million (up from $5.2 million in July)
Number of spots: One
Biggest-ticket ad: “Reminders” (est. $14.4 million)
5. Ozempic
Movement: Up one spot
What is it? Novo Nordisk GLP-1 diabetes drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $12 million (up from $11.1 million in July)
Number of spots: One
Biggest-ticket ad: “Ozempic Tri-Zone” (est. $12 million)
6. Cibinqo
Movement: Down three spots
What is it? Pfizer dermatitis drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $11.1 million (down from $13.1 million in July)
Number of spots: One
Biggest-ticket ad: “The Moment” (est. $11.1 million)
7. Nurtec
Movement: Not listed last month
What is it? Biohaven migraine prevention and treatment drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $10.9 million (up from $5.8 million in July)
Number of spots: Three
Biggest-ticket ad: “Nothing Glamorous About Migraines” (est. $6.3 million)
8. Jardiance
Movement: Down four spots
What is it? Eli Lilly’s diabetes drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $10 million (down from $11.9 million in July)
Number of spots: Three
Biggest-ticket ad: “Meet Ron: On It” (est. $7.2 million)
9. Rybelsus
Movement: Down one spot
What is it? Novo Nordisk GLP-1 diabetes drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $9.8 million (up from $8.5 million in July)
Number of spots: Two
Biggest-ticket ad: “DOWN With Rybelsus” (est. $9.7 million)
10. Verzenio
Movement: Not listed last month
What is it? Eli Lilly breast cancer drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $8.2 million (up from $6.5 million in July)
Number of spots: Three
Biggest-ticket ad: “Finding My Way Forward” (est. $4.8 million)