For months now, all signs have pointed to a looming, steep dropoff in pharmas’ spending on traditional TV advertising. One brand that seems not to have gotten the memo, however, is Johnson & Johnson’s Tremfya.
J&J kicked off the new year with a bang, shelling out more than $78 million to air eight TV ads for Tremfya throughout January, increasing nearly 40% from its December total and again making it far and away the month’s top spender, according to data shared with Fierce Pharma Marketing by iSpot.
That’s higher than any pharmaceutical brand’s single-month spending total for at least the last two years, iSpot confirmed to Fierce. Tremfya was also responsible for 2025’s highest monthly outlay, thanks to the nearly $63 million it spent airing commercials in October.
Tremfya’s massive marketing investment drove the combined total for January’s top 10 TV drug ad spenders to new heights. Altogether, they threw $323.8 million behind their ads, quite a ways above the previous record of $307.1 million that was also set in October, suggesting that 2026 could echo a pattern set over the last two years in which a sky-high January is followed by a milder spring and summer before spending ratchets back up in the final quarter of the year.
Trailing Tremfya in January’s top 10 were fellow immunology blockbusters Rinvoq and Skyrizi, both from AbbVie and both mainstays near the top of the TV ad spending roundups for the last several years.
They were followed by Eli Lilly’s GLP-1 giant Zepbound, which fell one spot in the rankings from December as its outlay dropped from $37 million to $34 million last month.
Next up were a pair of climbers: J&J’s Caplyta moved up one spot from December, while Lundbeck and Otsuka’s Rexulti surged four spots as both upped their TV ad totals. Sanofi and Regeneron’s Dupixent, meanwhile, dropped two spots to No. 7 as its outlay slipped by about a third to $17.4 million.
Rounding out the top 10 were a trio of brands that didn’t make December’s list, all in a virtual tie with around $16 million spent airing their respective commercials. Those brands were: AbbVie’s Vraylar, Bristol Myers Squibb’s Cobenfy and Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim’s Jardiance.
Amid the lead-up to this month’s Super Bowl, the majority of the top spenders counted the NFL as their top TV program by spend in January, including all of the top five. The only outliers on the list were Rexulti, which named the third hour of “Good Morning America,” and Vraylar, with “House Hunters.”
Below, find the full data for January 2026’s 10 biggest pharma ad spenders, as compiled by iSpot for Fierce.
1. Tremfya
Movement: No change
What is it? Johnson & Johnson’s immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $78.2 million (up from $56.4 million in December)
Number of spots: Eight (two psoriasis, four ulcerative colitis/Crohn’s disease, two psoriatic arthritis)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Relentless Weed” (est. $22 million)
2. Rinvoq
Movement: Up two spots
What is it? AbbVie’s JAK inhibitor immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $51.7 million (up from $35.4 million in December)
Number of spots: Six (three eczema, one UC/Crohn’s, two arthritis)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Checklist” (est. $22.8 million)
3. Skyrizi
Movement: Down one spot
What is it? AbbVie’s immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $44.9 million (up from $42.3 million in December)
Number of spots: Seven (five psoriasis, two UC/Crohn’s disease)
Biggest-ticket ad: “In the Picture: Control Is Everything” (est. $24.9 million)
4. Zepbound
Movement: Down one spot
What is it? Eli Lilly’s GIP/GLP-1 agonist for obesity
Est. national TV ad spend: $34 million (down from $37 million in December)
Number of spots: Five
Biggest-ticket ad: “A Different Way: $299” (est. $30.6 million)
5. Caplyta
Movement: Up one spot
What is it? Johnson & Johnson’s atypical antipsychotic drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $26.4 million (up from $23.4 million in December)
Number of spots: Four (two bipolar, two depression)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Let in the Lyte: More of the Lyte” (est. $13.6 million)
6. Rexulti
Movement: Up four spots
What is it? Lundbeck and Otsuka’s neurology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $22.6 million (up from $13.8 million in December)
Number of spots: Two (depression)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Park and Arcade” (est. $22.6 million)
7. Dupixent
Movement: Down two spots
What is it? Sanofi and Regeneron’s immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $17.4 million (down from $26.2 million in December)
Number of spots: 12 (one gastrointestinal, four asthma, seven eczema)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Feel the Heal” (est. $4.6 million)
8. Vraylar
Movement: Not listed last month
What is it? AbbVie’s bipolar and MDD drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $16.6 million (up from $9.4 million in December)
Number of spots: Three (one bipolar, two depression)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Jane's Head” (est. $9.4 million)
9. Cobenfy
Movement: Not listed last month
What is it? Bristol Myers Squibb’s schizophrenia drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $16 million (up from $12.6 million in December)
Number of spots: Two
Biggest-ticket ad: “Bryan’s Story” (est. $11.2 million)
10. Jardiance
Movement: Not listed last month
What is it? Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim’s diabetes and kidney disease drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $16 million (up from $11.2 million in December)
Number of spots: One (diabetes)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Jan” (est. $16 million)