As we hit the middle of the year, AbbVie is comfortably back in the top TV drug ad spenders’ driving seat taking the top two spots in July with its immunology blockbuster duo Skyrizi and Rinvoq, respectively, according to real-time TV trackers at iSpot.TV.
In third place in July is Lundbeck and Otsuka’s central nervous system (CNS) Rexulti, but in a surprising twist, Rexulti took the top spot in June away from the dominant force that is AbbVie in 2024 for the second time this year.
In July, however, spending shifted dramatically among the top three, with AbbVie bumping up the cash funneled into Skyrizi’s TV ads by nearly $5 million while dropping spend on Rinvoq by $1.4 million.
Meanwhile, spending on Rexulti’s ads fell by a massive $6.8 million from June to July, precipitating its drop into third place.
In fourth place is Sanofi and Regeneron’s immunology giant Dupixent, with spending up by nearly $2 million month-over-month. However, its days of challenging AbbVie as the largest TV drug ad spender appear to be over for now.
In fifth is Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim’s diabetes treatment Jardiance. In the sixth position, up one spot from last month is Novo Nordisk’s injectable GLP-1 diabetes drug Ozempic.
AbbVie returns with its bipolar and MDD drug Vraylar in seventh place, making it the most prolific top 10 member for July.
In eighth is Amgen’s plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis drug Otezla, which has ad hoc appearances in these lists. AstraZeneca’s respiratory disease treatment Breztri Aerosphere continues its mini-run in the top 10 this year, coming in ninth place.
Rounding off the top 10 is Merck’s cancer megablockbuster Keytruda, an unusual entrant given how seldom pharma taps TV for oncology meds.
In July, we saw the top 10 pharma drug spenders funnel just over $140 million into TV drug ads, down from the already low $151.7 million in June. This is a major drop from the around $190 million in spending we saw in April and May, showing a significant slowdown in spending as we head into the dog days of summer.
Check out the top 10 below from iSpot.TV below.
1. Skyrizi
Movement: Up two spots
What is it? AbbVie’s immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $28.3 million (up from $23.5 million in June)
Number of spots: 10 (two psoriatic arthritis, six psoriasis, two Crohn’s disease)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Sailing: $0 per Treatment” (est. $8.9 million)
2. Rinvoq
Movement: No change
What is it? AbbVie’s JAKi immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $22.5 million (down from $23.9 million in June)
Number of spots: Eight (two UC/Crohn’s, four arthritis, two eczema)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Just Okay: Hiker and Event Planner” (est. $5.1 million)
3. Rexulti
Movement: Down two spots
What is it? Otsuka and Lundbeck’s CNS drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $18.3 million (down from $25.5 million in June)
Number of spots: Two (one depression, one Alzheimer’s)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Mom's Alzheimer's” (est. $10.7 million)
4. Dupixent
Movement: No change
What is it? Sanofi and Regeneron’s immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $17.9 million (up from $15 million in June)
Number of spots: Seven (two asthma, five eczema)
Biggest-ticket ad: “This Is Better” (est. $6.9 million)
5. Jardiance
Movement: No change
What is it? Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim’s diabetes treatment
Est. national TV ad spend: $11.5 million (down from $13.1 million in June)
Number of spots: Two
Biggest-ticket ad: “Musical: Garden” (est. $7.9 million)
6. Ozempic
Movement: Up one spot
What is it? Novo Nordisk’s injectable GLP-1 diabetes drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $10.1 million (down from $11 million in June)
Number of spots: Two
Biggest-ticket ad: “Discover the Ozempic Tri-Zone: Rock Climbing” (est. $5.4 million)
7. Vraylar
Movement: Up one spot
What is it? AbbVie’s bipolar and MDD drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $9.3 million (down from $10.2 million in June)
Number of spots: Three
Biggest-ticket ad: “A Lift: Home” (est. $5.1 million)
8. Otezla
Movement: Not listed last month
What is it? Amgen’s plaque psoriasis and psoriatic arthritis drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $7.9 million (up from $7.2 million in June)
Number of spots: Two
Biggest-ticket ad: “Spotlight” (est. $6 million)
9. Breztri Aerosphere
Movement: Up one spot
What is it? AstraZeneca’s respiratory disease treatment
Est. national TV ad spend: $7.3 million (down from $8.5 million in June)
Number of spots: One
Biggest-ticket ad: “Road trip” (est. $7.3 million)
10. Keytruda
Movement: Not listed last month
What is it? Merck’s oncology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $6.9 million (down from $7.1 million in June)
Number of spots: Five
Biggest-ticket ad: “Known For: Dreams, Tradition, New Places: 17 Types” (est. $2.8 million)