After being crowned not just December’s biggest TV drug ad spender but also being No. 1 throughout last year, AbbVie’s Rinvoq started 2023 in its now accustomed top spot.
AbbVie’s JAK inhibitor topped the charts last month with an impressive $41.3 million in spend for its TV ads in January, up on the $40.6 million in December. That’s according to data shared with Fierce Pharma Marketing by real-time ad tracker iSpot.TV.
More than half of that went on just one spot for Rinvoq, “Helicopter: Surfing,” with $22.9 million in spend, and shows AbbVie is clearly not taking its foot off the gas in 2023.
That’s also evident by the fact that AbbVie’s second immunology blockbuster Skyrizi came in second with a beefy $37.7 million in spend, massively up on the $16.9 million registered in December.
This has pushed fierce rival Dupixent, marketed by Sanofi and Regeneron, down into third place, and comes as AbbVie continues to move TV drug ad spend away from its aging blockbuster Humira and into Rinvoq and Skyrizi.
Humira, for the first time in years, did not feature at all in the top 10 list for 2022, but AbbVie’s plans to move that spend across to its follow-up pair is now clearly coming to fruition.
Sanofi and Regeneron still spent a major $34.5 million on ads for their immunology giant that, like Skyrizi, was a major jump on its December spend, which came in at $23.1 million.
In at No. 4 is Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim’s diabetes drug Jardiance, which jumped three spots from December, while Lilly also came in fifth place with its breast cancer drug Verzenio. That saw a major jump in terms of spend, up from a mere $381,800 in December to $16.2 million in January.
In at No. 6 is the first of two HIV treatments in the top 10 from ViiV Healthcare in Dovato. The company's Cabenuva came in at No. 8.
In between them at No. 7 is Lundbeck and Otsuka’s atypical antipsychotic drug Rexulti, with $12.5 million in spend, up from $0 in December.
Novo Nordisk’s GLP-1 diabetes drug Ozempic comes in at No. 9, although, unusually, there was no placing in the top 10 for its oral GLP-1 drug Rybelsus. Rounding off the top 10 is the second breast cancer drug for the month in Novartis’ Kisqali, with $8.7 million in spend.
The total for the top 10 last month, which comes in at $207.4 million, is also up on January 2022’s total of $188.1 million.
The first half of last year saw sluggish spend that only sped up from the summer, predominantly from the ever-deepening budgets of AbbVie and Sanofi/Regeneron.
Check out the top 10 below.
1. Rinvoq
Movement: No change
What is it? AbbVie JAK inhibitor
Est. national TV ad spend: $41.3 million (up from $40.6 million in December)
Number of spots: Five (two eczema, two arthritis, one ulcerative colitis)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Helicopter: Surfing” (est. $22.9 million)
2. Skyrizi
Movement: Up 2 spots
What is it? AbbVie IL-23 inhibitor
Est. national TV ad spend: $37.7 million (up from $16.9 million in December)
Number of spots: Five (one Crohn’s disease, three psoriasis, one psoriatic arthritis)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Roller Coaster” (est. $19.3 million)
3. Dupixent
Movement: Down 1 spot
What is it? Sanofi and Regeneron IL-4 and IL-13 inhibitor.
Est. national TV ad spend: $34.5 million (up from $23.1 million in December)
Number of spots: Seven (three asthma, four eczema)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Du More: Kick Boxing” (est. $8.6 million)
4. Jardiance
Movement: Up 3 spots
What is it? Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim diabetes drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $19.9 million (up from $14.5 million in December)
Number of spots: One
Biggest-ticket ad: “On It” (est. $19.9 million)
5. Verzenio
Movement: Not listed last month
What is it? Eli Lilly CDK inhibitor breast cancer drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $16.2 million (up from $381.8K in December)
Number of spots: Three
Biggest-ticket ad: “Photo Album” (est. $5.9 million)
6. Dovato
Movement: Down three spots
What is it? ViiV Healthcare’s HIV treatment
Est. national TV ad spend: $14.2 million (down from $18.5 million in December)
Number of spots: Three
Biggest-ticket ad: “Detect This” (est. $5.5 million)
7. Rexulti
Movement: Not listed last month
What is it? Lundbeck and Otsuka atypical antipsychotic drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $12.5 million (up from $0 in December)
Number of spots: One
Biggest-ticket ad: “Build on Your Progress” (est. $12.5 million)
8. Cabenuva
Movement: Down two spots
What is it? ViiV Healthcare HIV treatment
Est. national TV ad spend: $11.6 million (down from $14.5 million in December)
Number of spots: Three
Biggest-ticket ad: “A Different Way: Beach” (est. $11 million)
9. Ozempic
Movement: Down four spots
What is it? Novo Nordisk GLP-1 injectable for diabetes
Est. national TV ad spend: $10.8 million (down from $15.6 million in December)
Number of spots: Two
Biggest-ticket ad: “Discover the Ozempic Tri-Zone” (est. $5.5 million)
10. Kisqali
Movement: Not listed last month
What is it? Novartis breast cancer drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $8.7 million (up from $4.9 million in December)
Number of spots: Two
Biggest-ticket ad: “Long Live” (est. $8.6 million)