Throughout 2025, AbbVie’s Skyrizi and Johnson & Johnson’s Tremfya were mainstays at the top of the monthly TV drug ad spending rankings. Indeed, since September, they’d taken turns alternating between the first and second spots on the list—a cycle that capped off in December with a final win for Tremfya.
J&J closed out the year by spending $56.4 million to air 10 different commercials for Tremfya throughout December, up from November’s $51.8 million total, according to data shared with Fierce Pharma Marketing by iSpot.TV. Skyrizi’s TV ad spend, meanwhile, fell more than $14 million month over month, from nearly $57 million in November to just over $42 million last month.
Next up, and finishing off 2025 with a major surge, was Zepbound. Eli Lilly threw $37 million behind four TV spots for the obesity blockbuster, nearly tripling November’s $12.9 million spend and sending Zepbound up seven spots to take third on December’s list. Also making significant gains was Sanofi and Regeneron’s Dupixent, which climbed four spots to claim fifth place.
Between Zepbound and Dupixent, in the No. 4 spot, was another immunology heavyweight, AbbVie’s Rinvoq, which stayed close to its cousin, Skyrizi, in the rankings throughout the year.
In sixth was J&J’s Caplyta, down two spots in the monthly rankings. The only other holdover between the November and December lists was Lundbeck and Otsuka’s Rexulti, which fell three spots to No. 10 as its monthly TV ad spend decreased by $2 million.
While eighth place on December’s list went to UCB’s Bimzelx, which occasionally popped up on the rankings throughout 2025—most recently in September—the seventh and ninth spots were taken by newcomers to the monthly roundups: GSK’s Nucala, which more than quadrupled its TV ad spending from November to December for an $18.2 million total, and Neurocrine Biosciences’ Ingrezza, which doubled its own outlay to reach $15 million last month.
Missing from December’s cohort were Novartis and Genentech’s Xolair, Amgen’s Repatha and Bristol Myers Squibb’s Cobenfy, all of which had made respectable showings in November.
All together, the top 10 spenders shelled out $285.8 million to air their TV drug ads throughout December. That’s up from November’s $277.3 million total and from the $274.4 million that the top spenders paid a year prior, in December 2024—though it’s still quite a few dollars shy of the record-setting $307.1 million they spent in October.
As in previous months, professional football broadcasts were a prime target for pharma brands’ ads, with all of the top eight listing the NFL as their top TV program by spend for December. The only outliers were Ingrezza and Rexulti, which homed in on “NBC Nightly News With Tom Llamas” and “CBS Mornings,” respectively.
Below, find the full data for December 2025’s 10 biggest pharma ad spenders, as compiled by iSpot.TV for Fierce.
1. Tremfya
Movement: Up one spot
What is it? Johnson & Johnson’s immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $56.4 million (up from $51.8 million in November)
Number of spots: 10 (three psoriasis, four ulcerative colitis/Crohn’s disease, three psoriatic arthritis)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Break Away: Relentless Weed” (est. $13.5 million)
2. Skyrizi
Movement: Down one spot
What is it? AbbVie’s immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $42.3 million (down from $56.8 million in November)
Number of spots: Five (three psoriasis, two UC/Crohn’s disease)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Free to Bare My Skin: Boat Ride” (est. $13.6 million)
3. Zepbound
Movement: Up seven spots
What is it? Eli Lilly’s GIP/GLP-1 agonist for obesity
Est. national TV ad spend: $37 million (up from $12.9 million in November)
Number of spots: Four
Biggest-ticket ad: “A Different Way: $299” (est. $29.5 million)
4. Rinvoq
Movement: Down one spot
What is it? AbbVie’s JAK inhibitor immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $35.4 million (down from $38.9 million in November)
Number of spots: Six (three eczema, one UC/Crohn’s, two arthritis)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Checklist” (est. $13.5 million)
5. Dupixent
Movement: Up four spots
What is it? Sanofi and Regeneron’s immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $26.2 million (up from $14.2 million in November)
Number of spots: 11 (one gastrointestinal, five asthma, five eczema)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Better Days” (est. $6.6 million)
6. Caplyta
Movement: Down two spots
What is it? Johnson & Johnson’s atypical antipsychotic drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $23.4 million (down from $35 million in November)
Number of spots: Four (two bipolar, two depression)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Let in the Lyte: More of the Lyte” (est. $20.5 million)
7. Nucala
Movement: Not listed last month
What is it? GSK’s biologic for eosinophil-driven diseases
Est. national TV ad spend: $18.2 million (up from $4.4 million in November)
Number of spots: One
Biggest-ticket ad: “More Could Be Going On” (est. $18.2 million)
8. Bimzelx
Movement: Not listed last month
What is it? UCB’s immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $18.1 million (up from $10.3 million in November)
Number of spots: Two (one psoriatic arthritis, one psoriasis)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Born With Wings” (est. $13.8 million)
9. Ingrezza
Movement: Not listed last month
What is it? Neurocrine Biosciences’ movement disorder treatment
Est. national TV ad spend: $15 million (up from $7.5 million in November)
Number of spots: One
Biggest-ticket ad: “Uncontrollable Movements” (est. $15 million)
10. Rexulti
Movement: Down three spots
What is it? Lundbeck and Otsuka’s neurology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $13.8 million (down from $15.8 million in November)
Number of spots: One (depression)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Park and Arcade” (est. $13.8 million)