Pfizer dethrones AbbVie as Xeljanz soars past Humira in January TV spending

New year, new leader on the pharma TV ad spending board. In January, Pfizer’s Xeljanz topped AbbVie's Humira in a rare bypass of the usual No. 1, spending more than $40 million on national TV time. That total was $6 million more than Humira's, according to data from real-time TV ad tracker iSpot.tv.

Xeljanz ran four TV spots during the month, continuing to spend most heavily on a newer ad launched in December touting its ulcerative colitis indication. It got the FDA nod for the indication in May, adding to its rheumatoid arthritis and psoriatic arthritis approvals, and spent more than $35 million in December and another $26 million in January on the ulcerative colitis treatment commercial.

Newcomers to the list included AbbVie’s Orilissa, which debuted its first TV ad campaign for the endometriosis pain treatment mid-month. Also on the list for January was Pfizer’s eczema treatment Eucrisa, backed by a renewed push in its ongoing "Nose to Toes" TV ad campaign. Two new commercials debuted, focused more on the drug’s approved status for kids, with youngsters like the "face of a flower girl" and "the arm of an artist" featured as Pfizer continued to point to its steroid-free status.

TV ad spending by pharma’s top 10 in January tallied $172 million, kicking off 2019 only slightly lower than December’s $178 million total in national media buys.

Xeljanz
Movement: Moved up from No. 2
What is it? Pfizer oral RA and ulcerative colitis med
Total estimated spending: $40.5 million (down from $42.2 million in December)
Number of spots: Four
Biggest-ticket ad: "A Different Direction" (est. $26.1 million)
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