Weight loss and diabetes drug ad spending reach $1 billion mark.

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Last year, drug companies invested heavily in advertising for weight loss and diabetes treatments in an effort to establish market dominance.

In 2023, drugmakers spent over $1 billion on ads for weight loss and diabetes medicines, which is a 51% increase from the previous year, according to new data from MediaRadar. This accounts for nearly 15% of the $7.6 billion that drugmakers spent on prescription drug ads in 2022.

Nearly $790 million was spent on advertising diabetes treatments in 2023, while weight loss drugs accounted for almost $264 million.

What is the significance of this data? It reveals the eagerness of companies to acquire new customers following the hype surrounding Ozempic and Wegovy, two diabetes drugs with high prices and limited insurance coverage, which have still gained popularity despite these challenges.

Todd Krizelman, CEO of MediaRadar, stated that Wegovy and Ozempic have been prominently advertised, endorsed by public figures, and received significant media exposure, which has led to increased advertising expenses to gain and maintain market share.

This year, initial data indicates that ad spending for weight loss and diabetes medications is not decreasing.

In the first two months of 2024, drugmakers spent approximately $120 million on advertisements for those treatments, which is a slight decrease from the same period in the previous year. Despite this, it still represents 10% of the total spending on prescription ads during January and February, according to MediaRadar.

Krizelman stated that brands are likely to increase their ad spending in the diabetes and weight loss category due to the growing market demand and the desire to capitalize on it.

Now, let's dig a little bit more into the data.

From January 1, 2022 to February 29, 2024, MediaRadar gathered ad spending data from various sources, including national TV broadcasts, print publications, newspapers, websites, podcasts, and social media platforms.

Last year, six weight loss and diabetes drugs were the top drivers of ad spending, as identified by the firm.

• Ozempic from Novo Nordisk – an injection for Type 2 diabetes
• Wegovy from Novo Nordisk – an injection for obesity
• Rybelsus from Novo Nordisk – a pill for Type 2 diabetes
• Mounjaro from – an injection for Type 2 diabetes
• Jardiance from Boehringer Ingelheim – a pill for Type 2 diabetes
• Farxiga from – a pill for Type 2 diabetes

In 2023, Wegovy accounted for $263 million in ad spending, but this cannot be compared year over year because the drug was approved in 2022. MediaRadar reports that Novo Nordisk paused some key promotion for Wegovy, including local and national TV advertising, in May.

Last year, Ozempic spent $208 million on advertising, which was a 4% increase from the previous year.

In 2022, Mounjaro's ad spending was $8.5 million, which is 16 times less than the $139 million spent in 2021.

Here is how the ad spending for those six drugs ranked:

• Wegovy – $263 million
• Ozempic – $208 million
• Rybelsus – $199 million
• Mounjaro – $139 million
• Jardiance – $148 million
• Farxiga – $68 million

In 2024, MediaRadar reported that national TV is the leading format for advertising weight loss and diabetes drugs. The company did not provide specific information on ad formats for the previous year.

In the first two months of this year, drugmakers spent at least 88% of their advertising budget for Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Jardiance, and Farxiga on television.

Despite reducing its investment in online video ads compared to 2023, Novo Nordisk spent 63% of its ad spending for Rybelsus on the format, according to MediaRadar.

According to Krizelman, the reason for the increase in spending on TV ads is because of their "greater reach and ability to target" patients who are more likely to be affected by diabetes and obesity. Additionally, TV commercials have a "higher impact in terms of trust and credibility compared to online channels," he stated.

I intend to track the expenditure on Eli Lilly's new obesity treatment Zepbound this year. This medication received approval in the U.S. in November and some experts predict that it may eventually become the best-selling drug of all time.

We will continue to provide updates on the drug and related treatments in the future.

Rewritten sentence: Please provide any tips, suggestions, story ideas, and data to Annika at [email protected].

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