After a record-setting October that easily dwarfed all preceding months in the year, TV drug ad spending found a happy medium in November.
Last month, drugmakers shelled out a combined $277.3 million to air TV ads for the top 10 brands, according to data shared with Fierce Pharma Marketing by iSpot.TV. That’s down from October’s jaw-dropping $307.1 million total but well above the outlays for every month since February of this year, including a particularly slow period when the monthly totals failed to break $200 million from July through September.
Interestingly, despite autumn’s upward trend, November’s haul is the first in 2025 that doesn’t outweigh the corresponding total from a year prior; during the same month last year, the top 10 spenders poured $287.5 million into airing their ads, for a year-over-year dip of about 3.5%.
Just like last year, this November’s top spender was AbbVie’s Skyrizi. The $56.8 million spent airing the immunology blockbuster’s commercials throughout the month marked an increase of about $10 million over October’s spend and pushed Skyrizi past the previous month’s titleholder, Johnson & Johnson’s Tremfya, which saw its TV ad spending drop by $11 million as it slid into second for November.
Also, swapping places from October were AbbVie’s Rinvoq and J&J's Caplyta, which took third and fourth in November, respectively. They were followed by a pair of newcomers to the monthly roundups: Novartis and Genentech’s Xolair, approved last year to treat allergic reactions to certain foods, and Amgen’s decade-old cholesterol med Repatha.
Next up were Lundbeck and Otsuka’s Rexulti, which climbed one spot to take seventh even as its monthly outlay dipped; Bristol Myers Squibb’s Cobenfy, which fell two spots after an impressive climb to No. 6 in October; and Sanofi and Regeneron’s Dupixent, holding steady in ninth.
Rounding out the list was Eli Lilly’s Zepbound, which returned to the top 10 for the first time since June. It was the only representative of the uber-popular GLP-1 drug class to make the list, as Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy—a reliable presence throughout the year and No. 5 in October—slipped off the leaderboard.
Ramping up a trend set in the last couple of months, November’s top 10 TV drug ad spenders overwhelmingly used the funds to air their commercials during professional football games. All but one of the group listed the NFL as their top TV program by spend for the month; the one holdout was Rexulti, for which “CBS Mornings” reigned supreme.
Below, find the full data for November 2025’s 10 biggest pharma ad spenders, as compiled by iSpot.TV for Fierce.
1. Skyrizi
Movement: Up one spot
What is it? AbbVie’s immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $56.8 million (up from $46.1 million in October)
Number of spots: Five (three psoriasis, two ulcerative colitis/Crohn’s disease)
Biggest-ticket ad: “In the Picture” (est. $23.5 million)
2. Tremfya
Movement: Down one spot
What is it? Johnson & Johnson’s immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $51.8 million (down from $62.7 million in October)
Number of spots: Nine (three psoriasis, four UC/Crohn’s disease, two psoriatic arthritis)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Relentless Weed” (est. $11.3 million)
3. Rinvoq
Movement: Up one spot
What is it? AbbVie’s JAKi immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $38.9 million (up from $35 million in October)
Number of spots: Seven (four eczema, one UC/Crohn’s, two arthritis)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Checklist” (est. $13 million)
4. Caplyta
Movement: Down one spot
What is it? Johnson & Johnson’s atypical antipsychotic drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $35 million (down from $39.5 million in October)
Number of spots: Three (two bipolar, one depression)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Let in the Lyte: More of the Lyte” (est. $23.9 million)
5. Xolair
Movement: Not listed last month
What is it? Novartis and Genentech’s anti-IgE antibody
Est. national TV ad spend: $19 million (up from $3.5 million in October)
Number of spots: Three
Biggest-ticket ad: “Caregiver” (est. $9.6 million)
6. Repatha
Movement: Not listed last month
What is it? Amgen’s cholesterol drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $17.5 million (up from $9.5 million in October)
Number of spots: Two
Biggest-ticket ad: “Jerry: Therapy” (est. $11.6 million)
7. Rexulti
Movement: Up one spot
What is it? Lundbeck and Otsuka’s neurology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $15.8 million (down from $18.3 million in October)
Number of spots: One (depression)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Park and Arcade” (est. 15.8 million)
8. Cobenfy
Movement: Down two spots
What is it? Bristol Myers Squibb’s schizophrenia drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $15.4 million (down from $23.2 million in October)
Number of spots: One
Biggest-ticket ad: “Bryan’s Story” (est. $15.4 million)
9. Dupixent
Movement: No change
What is it? Sanofi and Regeneron’s immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $14.2 million (down from $17 million in October)
Number of spots: 10 (one gastrointestinal, five asthma, four eczema)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Better Days” (est. $5 million)
10. Zepbound
Movement: Not listed last month
What is it? Eli Lilly’s GIP/GLP-1 agonist for obesity
Est. national TV ad spend: $12.9 million (up from $9.9 million in October)
Number of spots: Five
Biggest-ticket ad: “A Different Way” (est. $4.1 million)