Even as President Donald Trump directed the FDA in early September to begin cracking down on direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical advertising, spending on TV drug ads still ratcheted up compared to the preceding few months.
For all of September, according to data shared by iSpot.TV, pharmas poured $199 million into airing commercials for the top 10 drug brands. That marks something of a return to form after July and August saw a sharp drop-off in spending, with about $174 million from the top 10 spenders each month.
Before the summer slowdown, TV ad spending totals had crossed the $200 million threshold every month in 2025—even surpassing $300 million, once, in January.
This year’s monthly totals are following a familiar pattern: Just like last year, they started off strong in January, leveled off in the spring, hit a nadir in the summer and then began a steady climb upward as TV show schedules and football broadcasts picked back up in September.
Indeed, in line with the latter phenomenon, six of the top 10 spenders last month—including all of the top three—listed the NFL as their top TV program by spend.
In terms of the big spenders’ network targets, all but one listed either NBC, ABC or CBS as their top TV network by spend. Only Johnson & Johnson’s Tremfya broke the mold, with Univision leading its network placements.
Interestingly, the overall increase in TV ad spending came as the FDA hugely upped its output of untitled and warning letters to pharmas over DTC ads throughout the month, many of them taking issue with drug commercials’ visuals, storylines and music for distracting from important drug information.
Almost all of the companies that made September’s top 10 TV drug ad spenders received at least one of the FDA’s publicly posted letters.
Topping the list once again in September was AbbVie’s Skyrizi, though the Chicago pharma’s Rinvoq fell two spots to No. 4 as it was overtaken by Tremfya—which massively boosted TV ad spending month over month, from $23.5 million in August to $32.8 million in September—and Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy.
Lundbeck and Otsuka’s Rexulti held steady in fifth place, while Sanofi and Regeneron’s Dupixent jumped two spots to take sixth. The only other holdover from the previous month’s top 10 was UCB’s Bimzelx, which improved one spot to eighth.
Rounding out the month’s squadron of high spenders was a trio of newcomers, edging out August contenders Jardiance, Ozempic and Austedo. Merck’s Capvaxive vaccine took the No. 7 spot, while AbbVie’s Vraylar returned to the monthly lineup in ninth. Bristol Myers Squibb took 10th as it began TV ads for schizophrenia med Cobenfy, hiking up its spending from $0 in August to $11.4 million last month.
Below, find the full data for September 2025’s 10 biggest pharma ad spenders as compiled by iSpot.TV for Fierce.
1. Skyrizi
Movement: No change
What is it? AbbVie’s immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $34.9 million (up from $34.5 million in August)
Number of spots: Eight (seven psoriasis, one ulcerative colitis/Crohn’s disease)
Biggest-ticket ad: “In the Picture” (est. $17.9 million)
2. Tremfya
Movement: Up one spot
What is it? Johnson & Johnson’s immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $32.8 million (up from $23.5 million in August)
Number of spots: Six (three psoriasis, two ulcerative colitis/Crohn’s disease, one psoriatic arthritis)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Break Away: Relentless Weed” (est. $16.9 million)
3. Wegovy
Movement: Up one spot
What is it? Novo Nordisk’s GLP-1 agonist for obesity
Est. national TV ad spend: $24.1 million (up from $20.4 million in August)
Number of spots: One
Biggest-ticket ad: “Think Wegovy: Multiple Ways to Save” (est. $24.1 million)
4. Rinvoq
Movement: Down two spots
What is it? AbbVie’s JAKi immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $23.7 million (down from $25.2 million in August)
Number of spots: Five (two eczema, one ulcerative colitis/Crohn’s disease, two arthritis)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Checklist” (est. $10.3 million)
5. Rexulti
Movement: No change
What is it? Lundbeck and Otsuka’s neurology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $18.8 million (up from $15.8 million in August)
Number of spots: Two (one depression, one Alzheimer’s disease)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Park and Arcade” (est. $11.9 million)
6. Dupixent
Movement: Up two spots
What is it? Sanofi and Regeneron’s immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $15.1 million (up from $11.1 million in August)
Number of spots: Eight (one gastrointestinal, four asthma, three eczema)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Better Days” (est. $8.3 million)
7. Capvaxive
Movement: Not listed last month
What is it? Merck’s pneumonia and invasive pneumococcal disease vaccine
Est. national TV ad spend: $13.9 million (up from $7.7 million in August)
Number of spots: One
Biggest-ticket ad: “Been There Done That” (est. $13.9 million)
8. Bimzelx
Movement: Up one spot
What is it? UCB’s immunology drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $12.3 million (up from $10.3 million in August)
Number of spots: Six (four psoriasis, two psoriatic arthritis)
Biggest-ticket ad: “I'm Back: Showing Out” (est. $5.2 million)
9. Vraylar
Movement: Not listed last month
What is it? AbbVie’s bipolar and MDD drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $12 million (up from $6.6 million in August)
Number of spots: Three (two depression, one bipolar)
Biggest-ticket ad: “Jane’s Head” (est. $7.1 million)
10. Cobenfy
Movement: Not listed last month
What is it? Bristol Myers Squibb’s schizophrenia drug
Est. national TV ad spend: $11.4 million (up from $0 in August)
Number of spots: One
Biggest-ticket ad: “Bryan’s Story” (est. $12.5 million)