For months now, all signs have pointed to a looming, steep dropoff in pharmas\u2019 spending on traditional TV advertising. One brand that seems not to have gotten the memo, however, is Johnson & Johnson\u2019s Tremfya.
\nJ&J kicked off the new year with a bang, shelling out more than $78 million to air eight TV ads for Tremfya throughout January, increasing nearly 40% from its December total and again making it far and away the month\u2019s top spender, according to data shared with Fierce Pharma Marketing by iSpot.
\nThat\u2019s higher than any pharmaceutical brand\u2019s single-month spending total for at least the last two years, iSpot confirmed to Fierce. Tremfya was also responsible for 2025\u2019s highest monthly outlay, thanks to the nearly $63 million it spent airing commercials in October.
\nTremfya\u2019s massive marketing investment drove the combined total for January\u2019s top 10 TV drug ad spenders to new heights. Altogether, they threw $323.8 million behind their ads, quite a ways above the previous record of $307.1 million that was also set in October, suggesting that 2026 could echo a pattern set over the last two years in which a sky-high January is followed by a milder spring and summer before spending ratchets back up in the final quarter of the year.
\nTrailing Tremfya in January\u2019s top 10 were fellow immunology blockbusters Rinvoq and Skyrizi, both from AbbVie and both mainstays near the top of the TV ad spending roundups for the last several years.
\nThey were followed by Eli Lilly\u2019s GLP-1 giant Zepbound, which fell one spot in the rankings from December as its outlay dropped from $37 million to $34 million last month.
\nNext up were a pair of climbers: J&J\u2019s Caplyta moved up one spot from December, while Lundbeck and Otsuka\u2019s Rexulti surged four spots as both upped their TV ad totals. Sanofi and Regeneron\u2019s Dupixent, meanwhile, dropped two spots to No. 7 as its outlay slipped by about a third to $17.4 million.
\nRounding out the top 10 were a trio of brands that didn\u2019t make December\u2019s list, all in a virtual tie with around $16 million spent airing their respective commercials. Those brands were: AbbVie\u2019s Vraylar, Bristol Myers Squibb\u2019s Cobenfy and Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim\u2019s Jardiance.
\nAmid the lead-up to this month\u2019s Super Bowl, the majority of the top spenders counted the NFL as their top TV program by spend in January, including all of the top five. The only outliers on the list were Rexulti, which named the third hour of \u201cGood Morning America,\u201d and Vraylar, with \u201cHouse Hunters.\u201d
\nBelow, find the full data for January 2026\u2019s 10 biggest pharma ad spenders, as compiled by iSpot for Fierce.
\n1. Tremfya
\nMovement: No change
\nWhat is it? Johnson & Johnson\u2019s immunology drug
\nEst. national TV ad spend: $78.2 million (up from $56.4 million in December)
\nNumber of spots: Eight (two psoriasis, four ulcerative colitis\/Crohn\u2019s disease, two psoriatic arthritis)
\nBiggest-ticket ad: \u201cRelentless Weed\u201d (est. $22 million)
\n2. Rinvoq
\nMovement: Up two spots
\nWhat is it? AbbVie\u2019s JAK inhibitor immunology drug
\nEst. national TV ad spend: $51.7 million (up from $35.4 million in December)
\nNumber of spots: Six (three eczema, one UC\/Crohn\u2019s, two arthritis)
\nBiggest-ticket ad: \u201cChecklist\u201d (est. $22.8 million)
\n3. Skyrizi
\nMovement: Down one spot
\nWhat is it? AbbVie\u2019s immunology drug
\nEst. national TV ad spend: $44.9 million (up from $42.3 million in December)
\nNumber of spots: Seven (five psoriasis, two UC\/Crohn\u2019s disease)
\nBiggest-ticket ad: \u201cIn the Picture: Control Is Everything\u201d (est. $24.9 million)
\n4. Zepbound
\nMovement: Down one spot
\nWhat is it? Eli Lilly\u2019s GIP\/GLP-1 agonist for obesity
\nEst. national TV ad spend: $34 million (down from $37 million in December)
\nNumber of spots: Five
\nBiggest-ticket ad: \u201cA Different Way: $299\u201d (est. $30.6 million)
\n5. Caplyta
\nMovement: Up one spot
\nWhat is it? Johnson & Johnson\u2019s atypical antipsychotic drug
\nEst. national TV ad spend: $26.4 million (up from $23.4 million in December)
\nNumber of spots: Four (two bipolar, two depression)<\/p>\n
Biggest-ticket ad: \u201cLet in the Lyte: More of the Lyte\u201d (est. $13.6 million)
\n6. Rexulti
\nMovement: Up four spots
\nWhat is it? Lundbeck and Otsuka\u2019s neurology drug
\nEst. national TV ad spend: $22.6 million (up from $13.8 million in December)
\nNumber of spots: Two (depression)
\nBiggest-ticket ad: \u201cPark and Arcade\u201d (est. $22.6 million)
\n7. Dupixent
\nMovement: Down two spots
\nWhat is it? Sanofi and Regeneron\u2019s immunology drug
\nEst. national TV ad spend: $17.4 million (down from $26.2 million in December)
\nNumber of spots: 12 (one gastrointestinal, four asthma, seven eczema)
\nBiggest-ticket ad: \u201cFeel the Heal\u201d (est. $4.6 million)
\n8. Vraylar
\nMovement: Not listed last month
\nWhat is it? AbbVie\u2019s bipolar and MDD drug
\nEst. national TV ad spend: $16.6 million (up from $9.4 million in December)
\nNumber of spots: Three (one bipolar, two depression)
\nBiggest-ticket ad: \u201cJane’s Head\u201d (est. $9.4 million)
\n9. Cobenfy
\nMovement: Not listed last month
\nWhat is it? Bristol Myers Squibb\u2019s schizophrenia drug
\nEst. national TV ad spend: $16 million (up from $12.6 million in December)
\nNumber of spots: Two
\nBiggest-ticket ad: \u201cBryan\u2019s Story\u201d (est. $11.2 million)
\n10. Jardiance
\nMovement: Not listed last month
\nWhat is it? Eli Lilly and Boehringer Ingelheim\u2019s diabetes and kidney disease drug
\nEst. national TV ad spend: $16 million (up from $11.2 million in December)
\nNumber of spots: One (diabetes)
\nBiggest-ticket ad: \u201cJan\u201d (est. $16 million)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
For months now, all signs have pointed to a looming, steep dropoff in pharmas\u2019 spending on traditional TV advertising. One brand that seems not to have gotten the memo, however, is Johnson & Johnson\u2019s Tremfya. J&J kicked off the new year with a bang, shelling out more than $78 million to air eight TV ads […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2602,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[823,824],"class_list":{"0":"post-2601","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sitefansalaran-industry-news","8":"tag-jjs-tremfya-roars-into-2026-with-massive-tv-ad-spend","9":"tag-trailed-by-abbvies-rinvoq-and-skyrizi"},"yoast_head":"\n