Weight loss and diabetes drug advertising spending exceeds $1 billion

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Good evening! Drugmakers spent big money on weight loss and diabetes treatment ads last year as they battled for dominance in the booming market for those drugs.

Companies spent more than $1 billion on ads for weight-loss and diabetes drugs in 2023, up 51% from the previous year, according to new data from ad analytics firm MediaRadar. This represents nearly 15% of drug companies' $7.6 billion in advertising spending for prescription drugs last year.

Diabetes treatments accounted for nearly $790 million in ad spending in 2023, while weight-loss medications accounted for nearly $264 million.

So, why is this data important? This increase in spending shows businesses rushing to attract new customers after months of hype Novo NordiskDiabetes drug Ozempic and its weight loss counterpart Wegovy. Demand for these drugs has been high despite their price tag of approximately $1,000 and limited insurance coverage.

Wegovy and Ozempic “have been at the forefront of advertising, endorsements from public figures and consistent media exposure, which has contributed to overall spending and necessitated increased advertising investments to capture and expand market share,” MediaRadar CEO Todd Krizelman told CNBC.

Preliminary data for this year suggest that ad spending on weight-loss and diabetes drugs is not slowing down.

Drugmakers spent nearly $120 million on ads for these treatments during the first two months of 2024, according to MediaRadar. This represents a slight decrease from the same time last year due to factors such as “changes in prescriptions,” but still represented 10% of total prescription ad spending in January and February.

“We expect ad spending in the diabetes and weight loss category to remain strong or even increase as brands seek to capitalize on the growing market and demand,” Krizelman said.

Now, let's dig deeper into the data.

MediaRadar aggregated ad spending from national broadcast television, print publications, newspapers, websites, podcasts and social media platforms from January 1, 2022 to February 29, 2024.

The company identified six weight-loss and diabetes drugs that drove increased ad spending last year:

Ozempic from Novo Nordisk – injection for type 2 diabetes Wegovy from Novo Nordisk – injection for obesity Rybelsus from Novo Nordisk – tablet for type 2 diabetes Mounjaro from Eli Lilly – Injection for type 2 diabetes Jardiance from Boehringer Ingelheim – Pill for type 2 diabetes Farxiga from AstraZeneca – A pill for type 2 diabetes

Wegovy accounted for $263 million in ad spending in 2023, which isn't comparable year over year since the drug was approved in 2022, according to MediaRadar. Novo Nordisk in May also discontinued some of Wegovy's major promotions, particularly local and national TV ads.

Ozempic generated $208 million in ad spending last year, up just 4% from the previous year.

Mounjaro accounted for $139 million in ad spend, which is 16 times more than in 2022.

Here's the ranking of ad spending for these six drugs:

Wijovi: $263 million Ozambique: $208 million Rebelsus: $199 million Guardians: $148 million Mongaro: $139 million Farxija: $68 million

MediaRadar said national television is the top format for advertising weight loss and diabetes drugs so far in 2024. The company did not provide detailed data on ad formats for last year.

Drugmakers invested 88% or more of their ad spending for Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, Jardiance and Farxiga in TV in the first two months of this year.

Repulsus was the exception. Novo Nordisk spent 63% of its Rybelsus ad spend on online video despite reducing investment in the format compared to 2023, MediaRadar said.

Krizelman said the shift toward TV ad spending is due to its “breadth and ability to target” patients at higher risk for diabetes and obesity. He added that TV ads also have a “greater impact in terms of trust and credibility compared to online channels.”

This year, I plan to monitor what spending on Eli Lilly's new obesity treatment, Zepbound, will look like. The drug received approval in the United States in November, and some analysts say it may eventually become the best-selling drug of all time.

Stay tuned for more of our coverage of the drug and similar treatments later this year.

Feel free to send any tips, suggestions, story ideas and data to Annika at annikakim.constantino@nbcuni.com.

It's a big day for health tech startup Prenosis.

The 10-year-old Chicago-based company announced Wednesday that its AI-based diagnostic tool for sepsis has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. It's the first time the agency has allowed this type of solution.

Sepsis occurs when the body has a severe response to an infection. It is difficult to diagnose, and is often fatal. About 1.7 million adults in the United States develop sepsis each year, and 1 in 3 patients who die in the hospital develop sepsis during their hospitalization, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Prenosis's tool, called Sepsis ImmunoScore, uses 22 different parameters to help doctors assess a patient's risk of developing sepsis, according to a press release. While doctors and nurses are often responsible for monitoring these factors individually, Sepsis ImmunoScore uses artificial intelligence to assess them all at once.

The tool displays an overall risk score, in addition to four categories that reflect the risk of deterioration of the patient's condition, the statement said. Sepsis ImmunoScore is integrated into the electronic health record, and doctors can see exactly which parameters were used to calculate the risk score.

In 2022, the FDA updated its guidance for companies and provided a number of examples of device software functions that it intends to oversee. Software that “analyzes a patient's medical information to detect a life-threatening condition, such as a stroke or sepsis,” falls into this category, the agency said.

Prenosis told CNBC that although he could have gone straight to market with his solution, as other companies like healthcare software vendor Epic Systems have done, he didn't want to try to sell Sepsis ImmunoScore without FDA authorization. The company said the approval process took about 18 months.

Prenosis will now conduct additional studies and begin selling the product to hospitals across the United States. Eventually, the company hopes to show its technology in hospitals around the world.

Feel free to send any tips, suggestions, story ideas, and pitches to Ashley at ashley.capoot@nbcuni.com.

— CNBC's Gabriel Curtis contributed to this report.