After spending much of the year sloping steadily downward from a January peak, TV drug ad spending picked up in a major way last month.
The combined outlay for the top 10 brands in October weighed in at $307.1 million, according to data shared with Fierce Pharma Marketing by iSpot.TV. Not only does that far outweigh recent months’ totals, which hadn’t crossed the $200 million threshold since June, but it also blows past the record high of $302.5 million set in January.
The sudden spike was somewhat to be expected: 2025’s monthly spending totals have largely followed a pattern set last year—albeit on a ramped-up scale—where a high-flying January was followed by a steep drop-off before the numbers soared to new heights in the final three months of the year.
October’s massive outlay was anchored by the $62.7 million that the month’s top spender, Johnson & Johnson’s Tremfya, poured into airing its 11 TV ads. That represents almost a doubling of September’s Tremfya spend and is also by far the highest monthly total for a single brand in all of 2025.
AbbVie’s Skyrizi, in the No. 2 spot, also significantly stepped up its spending. After sticking to a range of $27 million to $34 million per month so far this year, its October outlay jumped up to just over $46 million.
Another major increase sent Intra-Cellular’s Caplyta back to the top 10, as it more than tripled its TV ad spending month over month to take third place with a nearly $40 million total.
In fact, all but one of the brands on October’s list bulked up their TV ad spending from September. The single outlier was Lundbeck and Otsuka’s Rexulti, which shelled out $18.3 million last month, compared to $18.5 million the month before. The shift, which sent it down three spots to No. 8, came as the brand aired only one spot in October, for its depression indication, while previous months have counted an Alzheimer’s disease-focused commercial, too.
Overall, most of the top 10 were holdovers from the previous month’s lineup. AbbVie’s Rinvoq held steady at No. 4, Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy dropped to fifth, Bristol Myers Squibb’s Cobenfy rose to sixth, and Sanofi and Regeneron’s Dupixent fell three spots to take ninth.
Along with Caplyta, the only other newcomers to the list included Teva Pharmaceuticals’ Austedo at No. 7 and BMS’s Opdivo in 10th.
As in September, most of October’s ramped-up spending was dedicated to airing drug ads during football games: According to iSpot, all but two of the top 10 brands counted the NFL as their top TV program by spend.
Below, find the full data for October 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: $62.7 million (up from $32.8 million in September)
Number of spots: 11 (five psoriasis, four ulcerative colitis/Crohn’s disease, two psoriatic arthritis)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Break Away: Relentless Weed” (est. $19.6 million)
2. Skyrizi
Movement: Down one spot
What is it? AbbVie’s immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $46.1 million (up from $34.9 million in September)
Number of spots: Four (one Crohn’s/UC, three psoriasis)
Biggest-ticket ad: “In the Picture” (est. $23.5 million)
3. Caplyta
Movement: Not listed last month
What is it? Intra-Cellular’s schizophrenia and bipolar depression drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $39.5 million (up from $11.8 million in September)
Number of spots: Two
Biggest-ticket ad: “The Darkness of Bipolar Depression: Let in The Lyte” (est. $21.1 million)
4. Rinvoq
Movement: No change
What is it? AbbVie’s JAKi immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $35 million (up from $23.7 million in September)
Number of spots: Six (three eczema, one UC/Crohn’s, two arthritis)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Checklist” (est. $14.8 million)
5. Wegovy
Movement: Down two spots
What is it? Novo Nordisk’s GLP-1 agonist for obesity
Est. national TV ad spend: $31.5 million (up from $24.1 million in September)
Number of spots: One
Biggest-ticket ad: “Think Wegovy: Multiple Ways To Save” (est. $31.5 million)
6. Cobenfy
Movement: Up four spots
What is it? Bristol Myers Squibb’s schizophrenia drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $23.2 million (up from $11.4 million in September)
Number of spots: One
Biggest-ticket ad: “Bryan’s Story” (est. $23.2 million)
7. Austedo
Movement: Not listed last month
What is it? Teva Pharmaceuticals’ movement disorder drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $18.5 million (up from $6.5 million in September)
Number of spots: Two
Biggest-ticket ad: “Phone Call” (est. $9.8 million)
8. Rexulti
Movement: Down three spots
What is it? Lundbeck and Otsuka’s neurology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $18.3 million (down from $18.8 million in September)
Number of spots: One (depression)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Park and Arcade” (est. $18.3 million)
9. Dupixent
Movement: Down three spots
What is it? Sanofi and Regeneron’s immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $17 million (up from $15.1 million in September)
Number of spots: Nine (two gastrointestinal, three asthma, four eczema)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Rachel” (est. $5 million)
10. Opdivo
Movement: Not listed last month
What is it? Bristol Myers Squibb’s cancer drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $15.3 million (up from $9 in September)
Number of spots: One
Biggest-ticket ad: “This Is Me” (est. $15.3 million)