Annual Spending on Direct-to-Consumer Drug Advertising Ties an All-Time High

According to Kantar Media, pharma industry spending on direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertising totaled $5.4 billion in 2015 compared to $4.3 billion in 2014 - a 19% increase. This ties the high mark of $5.4 billion spent in 2006 (see chart below).

Spending Data from Nielsen & Kantar Media (last 2 years), Drug Approval Data from FDA.

It hardly takes a genius to realize that when FDA approves more drugs for marketing, more marketing happens. I plotted the number of new drugs (New Molecular Entities plus Biologics) approved by the FDA in an overlay to see if there was a direct correlation. Generally, I'd say there is a correlation if you allow for a delay in approval until advertising begins. Other factors, however, such as patent expiration, competition, etc., also play a role in determining DTC advertising budgets.

UPDATE 6-APR-2016:

Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) Drug Ad Spending Ties Record Set in 2006

There was one other piece of data that surprised me.

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