AbbVie keeps May TV focus on Humira, while Gilead spends big on HIV drugs

Will AbbVie back off Humira advertising now that it’s announced it will buy Allergan? Maybe. But for now, the Illinois drugmaker is showing no signs of slowing its long-running robust TV ad push for the world's best-selling drug.

AbbVie blasted the nearest competing pharma TV ad by dropping $47.5 million last month, topping the second-closest spender by more than $20 million, according to data from real-time TV ad tracker iSpot.tv. Gilead Sciences came in second in May, spending $26.8 million on ads for HIV treatment and prevention drug Truvada as part of its ongoing TV campaign.

Both drugmakers are under the gun facing patent expirations, with Truvada's in 2020 and Humira's in 2023, although biosimilars for Humira are already on the market in Europe.

Another repeat on the list for May was a second Gilead HIV treatment, the three-drug regimen Biktarvy, at No. 9 with its diversity campaign launched in April.

Also on the list again was Celgene’s Otezla, although maybe not for long: Bristol-Myers Squibb announced this week that as part of an agreement with the FTC over its buyout of Celgene, it will sell off the psoriasis blockbuster.

Overall, TV ad spending for the pharma top 10 increased to $177 million in May, up from $168 million spent in April and $169 million in March, according to iSpot.tv data.