DTC Ad Spending Is Rising So Far This Year, But Will It Continue?

For those keeping track of direct-to-consumer advertising of prescriptions – and we know that many do – newly released data indicates a slight uptick in promotional spending in recent months. Through the first half of this year, DTC advertising totaled $1.82 billion, a slight 1.2 percent rise over the same period a year earlier, according to DTC Perspectives, an industry consulting firm that cited Kantar Media data. Why? “The reasons for stabilization are new brands doing heavy DTC,” writes Bob Ehrlich, a former Warner-Lambert executive who runs DTC Perspectives, in his blog. He cites new spending for two drugs – the Toviaz overactive bladder treatment and the Xarelto bloodthinner - reached nearly $80 million. And spending on two testosterone drugs, Androgel and Axiron, almost doubled. Then again, increased spending on four drugs is only part of the picture. But the overall spending trend is something of a turnabout from the recent past, he notes, when DTC spending slumped thanks to the patent cliff, which meant brand-name drugmakers no longer spent big money to promote their brands. Of course, with more new drugs being approved by the FDA over the past 18 months or so (see this), DTC spending may continue to rise, depending upon the category. Another fresh example is the Belviq prescription diet pill that is marketed by Eisai and Arena Pharmaceuticals. Although the campaign is too new to generate data, the drugmakers recently began promoting their weight-loss pill ...
Source: Pharmalot - Category: Pharma Commentators Authors: Source Type: blogs