TV Pharma Ad Spending Shifts in 2021: Amidst Pandemic, Autoimmune Treatments Soar, Diabetes Meds Slow

Pharma companies continued to evolve their advertising strategies in 2021, as both COVID-19 vaccines and autoimmune treatments dominated the landscape. While AbbVie's Humira maintained a high level of spending, it took a hit from Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine and was ultimately surpassed by Sanofi and Regeneron's Dupixent.

Dupixent, which treats conditions like eczema and asthma, took the top spot in 2021 with a massive $287.6 million in ad spend, a 26% increase from 2020. Novo Nordisk's oral diabetes medication, Rybelsus, came in second with a record $225.2 million in ad spend, up 269% from 2020. The newcomer, Ozempic, also an injectable diabetes medication, followed closely in third place with $150.7 million in ad spend.

Key Takeaways:

Dupixent's $287.6 million ad spend in 2021 marks a 26% increase from 2020.
Novo Nordisk's Rybelsus ad spend skyrocketed to $225.2 million in 2021, up 269% from 2020.
AbbVie's Humira ad spend dropped 49% to $176.4 million in 2021.
Trulicity and Jardiance, two diabetes medications, saw minimal increases in ad spend.
Skyrizi, AbbVie's psoriasis treatment, saw a 3.9% decrease in ad spend.
Rexulti, an antidepressant, increased its ad spend by 15.5% in 2021.
Johnson & Johnson's Tremfya, a plaque psoriasis medication, increased its ad spend by 96.4% in 2021.

Statistics:

$287,600,000: Dupixent's ad spend in 2021, a 26% increase from 2020.
$225,200,000: Rybelsus's ad spend in 2021, up 269% from 2020.
$176,400,000: Humira's ad spend in 2021, down 49% from 2020.
50%: The percentage decline in Humira's ad spend from 2020 to 2021.
$104,700,000: Johnson & Johnson's Tremfya ad spend in 2021, up 96.4% from 2020.
$61,000,000: Ozempic's ad spend in 2021, up 17% from 2020.

Sources:

iSpot.tv
Fierce Pharma Marketing
AbbVie
Sanofi
Regeneron
Novo Nordisk
Eli Lilly
Boehringer
Otsuka
Lundbeck
Johnson & Johnson