March 30, 2015
By Alex Keown, BioSpace.com Breaking News Staff
CHICAGO -- To stay atop the heap takes money, and Pfizer Inc. has been willing to shell out more than $1 billion in advertising revenue last year, Bloomberg Business reported.
Pfizer’s drugs made up more than two-thirds of the most advertised pharmaceutical products in the United States last year. It increased its spending on advertising by more than $260 million, Bloomberg reported.
Advertising spending for prescription pharmaceuticals grew to $4.5 billion last year, an increase of 21 percent. With more than $1 billion spent on television and print advertisements, Pfizer led the way for pharma companies, far outpacing rivals. Pfizer spent more than double what closest competitor AbbVie spent.
Pfizer had seven of the top 10 most-advertised drug brands last year, with ads for erectile dysfunction drug Viagra, blood-thinner Eliquis and arthritis drug Xeljanz all in the top five. Bloomberg reported. Each of those drugs are among the company’s biggest sellers, making up $10.5 billion of Pfizer’s $45.7 billion in drug sales last year.
Eli Lilly and Company , manufacturer of erectile-dysfunction drug Cialis, a rival to Pfizer’s Viagra, spent $210 million on direct-to-consumer advertisements last year.
Eli Lilly, manufacturer of erectile-dysfunction drug Cialis, a rival to Pfizer’s Viagra, spent $210 million on direct-to-consumer advertisements last year.
Other drugs in the top 10 most-advertised list include Pfizer’s Lyrica, Sunitomo Dainippon Pharma’s Latuda, AbbVie’s Humira and two more Pfizer drugs, Celebrex and Chantix. Pfizer spent just under $200 million to market Lyrica, which treats nerve and muscle pain caused by shingles or diabetes. Chantix ranked at 10, with just short of $100 million spend on direct-to-consumer advertisements.
Many of these medications are used to treat chronic conditions and prime television advertising slots for these drugs is during the evening hours when older Americans who may benefit from these medications are likely watching television.
The United States is one of only two countries that allow drugmakers to advertise their prescription wares on television. New Zealand is the other. Drugmakers began to advertise prescription medication in 1997 and since then annual advertising expenses have skyrockets to more than $5 billion.
Last year Pfizer reached a $35 million settlement with 41 states and the District of Columbia over alleged improper marketing of its drug Rapamune, used to prevent bodies from rejecting kidney transplants.
According to the lawsuit, the states said Pfizer unit Wyeth Pharmaceuticals Inc. promoted the drug for other uses that weren’t approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The U.S. had been investigating Wyeth‘s promotion of Rapamune before the company was acquired by Pfizer in 2009. The Justice Department was looking into allegations that Wyeth paid kickbacks to doctors while promoting the drug for unauthorized uses.
Advertising sales are still lower than direct marketing the companies use to share information with doctors who prescribe the medications. Bloomberg reported drug companies spend about $8 billion combined each year for that.
