Big Pharma spent a whopping $2.8 billion on advertising in 2023 to market just 10 drugs, according to data from ad intelligence platform Vivvix, as reported by Fierce Pharma. That’s an almost 15% jump from the $2.5 billion spent last year.
Here are the top 10 drugs advertised most by Big Pharma.
AbbVie spent $162.3 million to advertise its antipsychotic Vraylar in 2023. The medication — which is used to treat schizophrenia, depression, and other mental disorders — generated about $2.8 million in revenue for AbbVie that same year.
Lundbeck and Otsuka spent $171.5 million on ads in 2023 for its antipsychotic medication Rexulti. The treatment generated about 4.5 billion in Danish krone ($659.6 million).
Pfizer spent $177.9 million on advertising Nurtec in 2023, when it made popstar Lady Gaga the face of the migraine medication. Nurtec generated $928 million in revenue for Pfizer in 2023.
Bristol Myers Squibb spent $183.3 million to advertise its plaque psoriasis treatment Sotyktu in 2023. The medication generated $170 million in revenue for the company that year.
Novo Nordisk spent $187.4 million on ads for its blockbuster diabetes medication last year. The GLP-1 treatment known for its weight-loss side effects generated $14 billion in sales for the Danish pharma giant.
Novo Nordisk spent even more — $187.4 million — to advertise its lesser-known diabetes drug Rybelsus in 2023. It generated nearly $2.7 billion in sales for the company last year.
Last year, Takeda spent $226.1 million to advertise Entyvio, an antibody for the treatment of Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis. Entyvio generated $4.9 billion in sales for Takeda in fiscal year 2023.
AbbVie is the pharma company with the most medications on this list. The pharma giant spent nearly half-a-billion dollars on ads for Rinvoq last year. The medication used to treat serveral conditions including heumatoid arthritis, psoriatic arthritis, and Crohn’s disease generated $1.2 billion for the company in 2023.
Sanofi and Regeneron spent $502 million in ads for Dupixent in 2023. The medication, which is used for a variety of illnesses including atopic dermatitis and asthma, generated $11.59 billion in sales last year.
AbbVie dropped the most on advertising among all the pharma companies on this list. It spent over $579 million in ads just for Skyrizi. The immunology medication has been approved for the treatment of plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and Crohn’s disease. In 2023, sales of Skyrizi reached $7.7 billion.