AbbVie's Rinvoq rockets up the pharma TV ad chart in March, but overall spend crashes back to Earth

AbbVie’s JAK inhibitor Rinvoq wasn’t even in the top 10 for pharma TV ad spending in February, but it shot up to first place in March as Eli Lilly’s Trulicity dropped down to fifth.

Rinvoq is a follow-up to AbbVie’s aging immunology blockbuster Humira, which has long reigned at the top of these TV ad spending lists but isn’t even in the top 10 this month, according to the real-time TV ad watchers at iSpot.tv.

Rinvoq went from a tiny $1.3 million spend in February to $22.3 million last month, putting it on top as AbbVie continues to filter its TV spend away from Humira and toward its new batch of future blockbusters.

In second place is AbbVie’s fierce rival, spending-wise: Sanofi and Regeneron’s immunology giant Dupixent, which beat out Humira last year to be crowned the biggest TV ad spender of 2021. But while remaining near the top, Dupixent still saw spend drop significantly, down a massive $30 million from February to $20 million in March.

Third is Eli Lilly for its breast cancer treatment Verzenio, which stayed in the same spot from February, though it too saw spending drop by $26.9 million month on month.

That decline becomes a pattern in fourth and fifth places, for Johnson & Johnson’s immunology drug Stelara and Lilly’s Trulicity, respectively. Spend on Stelara’s TV spots dropped $22 million, while Trulicity, which had been in first place in February, saw spending cut by a huge $45.8 million.

There were some brands that boosted spending: sixth-placed Rybelsus, for instance, the oral GLP-1 drug from Novo Nordisk, and Otsuka and Lundbeck’s atypical antipsychotic Rexulti in seventh place. Both posted the exact same spending increase of $8.9 million each.

But we see spend fall again for the final three places. AbbVie’s immunology drug Skyrizi, which is pairing with Rinvoq in trying to shore up the future loss of Humira sales, is in eighth after a decline of $15.7 million, while Novo’s injected GLP-1 drug Ozempic, in ninth place, was down $12.8 million.

Johnson & Johnson's IL-21 immunology drug Tremfya, in 10th, saw spend drop off by $25.5 million.

Total spend for March 2022 hit a weak $126 million for the top 10, an enormous drop from the $223 million we saw in February.

Check out details and ads from iSpot.tv for the top 10 below.
 

1. Rinvoq
Movement:
Not listed last month
What is it? AbbVie JAK inhibitor immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $22.3 million (up from $1.3 million in February)
Number of spots: One
Biggest-ticket ad: “Your Mission - Fishing” (est. $22.3 million)

2. Dupixent
Movement:
No movement
What is it? Regeneron and Sanofi IL-4/13 immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $20 million (down from $30 million in February)
Number of spots: Seven (three asthma, four eczema)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Heal Your Skin From Within” (est. $6.9 million)

3. Verzenio
Movement:
No movement
What is it? Eli Lilly breast cancer drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $14.4 million (down from $26.9 million in February)
Number of spots: Two
Biggest-ticket ad: “Finding My Way Forward” ($12.9 million)

4. Stelara
Movement:
Up 1 spot
What is it? Johnson & Johnson IL12 and IL-23 immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $10.9 million (down from $22 million in February)
Number of spots: Three
Biggest-ticket ad: “Enough - $5 Per Dose” (est. $9.4 million)

5. Trulicity
Movement:
Down 4 spots
What is it? Eli Lilly diabetes drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $10.7 million (down from $45.8 million in February)
Number of spots: Three
Biggest-ticket ad: “Father-Son” (est. $8.1 million)

6. Rybelsus
Movement:
Not listed last month
What is it? Novo Nordisk oral diabetes drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $10.1 million (up from $8.9 million in February)
Number of spots: Two
Biggest-ticket ad: “Waking Up - Possible” (est. $5.7 million)

7. Rexulti
Movement:
Not listed last month
What is it? Otsuka and Lundbeck atypical antipsychotic
Est. national TV ad spend: $10 million (up from $8.9 million in February)
Number of spots: Two
Biggest-ticket ad: “Hard Enough” (est. $7.2 million)

8. Skyrizi
Movement:
Down 1 spot
What is it? AbbVie antibody targeting IL-23 for psoriasis
Est. national TV ad spend: $9.7 million (down from $15.7 million in February)
Number of spots: Three
Biggest-ticket ad: “Clear Skin” (est. $4.4 million)

9. Ozempic
Movement:
Up 1 spot
What is it? Novo Nordisk GLP-1 diabetes drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $9.5 million (down from $12.8 million in February)
Number of spots: One
Biggest-ticket ad: “Joe’s Type 2 Diabetes Zone” (est. $9.5 million)

10. Tremfya
Movement:
Down 6 spots
What is it? Johnson & Johnson IL-23 psoriasis drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $9.2 million (down from $25.5 million in February)
Number of spots: Three
Biggest-ticket ad: “Emerge - $5 Per Dose” (est. $5.1 million)