Sanofi has predicted that Dupixent will receive “the majority of the benefit” from the direct-to-consumer (DTC) marketing campaigns that Eli Lilly is running to support its rival drug Ebglyss.
On Sanofi's third-quarter earnings call, an analyst asked executives about the impact of Lilly “getting much more vocal on Ebglyss and stepping up DTC.” The analyst asked if there is any risk of major formulary changes or net price movements next year, “given we’re solidly in [pharmacy benefit manager] negotiating season.”
In response, Manuela Buxo, head of specialty care at Sanofi, argued that most of the benefits of rivals’ DTC campaigns will flow to Dupixent because it has the largest share of the market. The prediction reflects the level of penetration that Dupixent, Ebglyss and other advanced therapies have achieved in atopic dermatitis (AD) and other indications.
“We’re talking about 20% advanced therapy penetration in AD,” Buxo said. “By Ebglyss and other competitors, but also ourselves, educating patients through DTC and other means, you’re actually helping create more awareness for all products in this space, and that's what we need.”
Buxo spoke after a quarter in which Dupixent sales grew almost 35% to hit 5.7 billion euros ($6.4 billion). Lilly’s Ebglyss grew faster in the third quarter, with sales rising 59%. But having come to market seven years after Dupixent and lacking its rival’s multi-indication label, the drug is a comparative minnow in the inflammatory disease market. Ebglyss sales hit $202 million in the third quarter.
Lilly started its first DTC campaign for Ebglyss in March 2025. The drugmaker built the campaign on data showing the medicine’s efficacy in people with darker skin tones, in whom AD can present differently.
Sanofi is racing to defend its franchise ahead of the loss of a U.S. Dupixent patent in 2031, including by paying $1 billion upfront last month to partner with Regeneron. The drugmaker aims to launch one drug in the deal—a long-acting anti-IL-13 medicine—before Dupixent biosimilars come to market and use its specialty reach, payer access and patient services to grow sales quickly, Sanofi CEO Belén Garijo said.