The worldwide average session duration for apps in the Entertainment category was 7.3 minutes between April 2022 and June 2025, more than twice the time spent per session on the next-highest category, according to a June 2025 report from Airship.
The FDA is considering a change to the labels of Tylenol and other drugs containing acetaminophen. The new label would warn that using these drugs during pregnancy might be linked to a higher risk of autism and ADHD in children. Marketers in this space will want to be transparent in ads and promotional materials that their medicine contains acetaminophen since consumers are far less familiar with ingredients than prescription drug brands. Campaigns should avoid using language overstating the certainty that acetaminophen isn’t linked to autism and re-emphasize that pregnant women should always consult their doctors before taking the medicine.
Walmart is adding pharmacy home delivery for specialty drugs that need to be refrigerated, such as GLP-1s, insulin and liquid antibiotic amoxicillin. Walmart’s move to add GLP-1 drugs to its pharmacy delivery services will be a customer pleaser and could force other players operating in retail and prescription drug markets to make similar moves as consumers grow increasingly frustrated with their drugstore experiences.
A new schizophrenia drug from Bristol Myers Squibb will get the same price tag in the UK when it launches next year, complying with President Trump’s demand to equalize US drug prices with other developed countries. Trump has public sentiment on his side, with most Americans eager for lower drug costs. We think drugmakers’ public pledges for price cuts and fairer global equality for select brand name drugs can appease both the Trump administration and consumers. Even limited price cuts can have outsized significance in the context of regulatory and public scrutiny.
Pfizer agreed to pay as much as $7.3 billion to acquire anti obesity drugmaker Metsera. The company is buying its way into weight loss drugs after unsuccessful attempts at internal development. Pfizer will need to find its niche in an underexplored area of weight loss treatments, such as marketing its monthly shot for people who don't want to inject themselves weekly or take a pill every day.
A federal health advisory panel has narrowed the recommendation for childhood measles, mumps, rubella, and varicella (MMRV) vaccine, but indefinitely postponed an expected vote on the hepatitis B vaccine for newborns. Public trust in federal health authorities was already shaky, but every new clash between Kennedy’s anti-vaccine advocates and medical experts makes pharma marketers’ and agencies’ jobs harder. Public health guidance can no longer rest solely with federal agencies. Vaccine makers need to support state and local health agencies, amplify community vaccination efforts, and partner with physicians and trusted online health voices to reinforce safety messages for parents.
Two-thirds (67%) of people with chronic health conditions take action after seeing pharma advertising for treatments, per a recent Swoop survey. Patients are active, informed pharma consumers. But federal efforts to limit TV and social media ads could shrink drugmakers’ reach. Marketers should lean into lower-profile digital touchpoints—like search and brand websites—where our data shows patients most often begin their health journeys. Marketers and agencies also need to boost visibility in unpaid media. Partner with advocacy groups to engage patients both online and offline, and double down on support programs and online resources to build and maintain trusted relationships.
More consumers are turning to AI tools and social media platforms to research and select doctors, according to a new survey from rater8. Healthcare providers need to ensure that their business profiles are regularly updated online to be noticeable in local search results. They should also encourage their patients to leave online reviews while consistently responding, as this activity could boost relevance for AI algorithms. Social media content is also important, and should include testimonials from satisfied patients, along with posts from doctors that demystify complex medical information.
British pharma company GSK plans to invest $30 billion in US drug manufacturing and R&D, coinciding with President Trump’s UK state visit and a broader pullback on UK investments by other drugmakers. Since taking office, Trump has issued executive orders and warnings aimed at spurring more US manufacturing and lowering drug prices. While his approach is boosting manufacturing, it doesn’t necessarily translate to lower drug prices. For increased US manufacturing to truly benefit consumers, it needs to be coupled with reforms in how drugs are priced, negotiated, and reimbursed. Without cooperation from the full supply chain—from pharma companies to providers, pharmacy benefit managers, insurers, and federal and state governments—manufacturing growth alone won’t guarantee lower prices for patients.
America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) released a statement that its member health insurers will cover vaccines that were previously recommended by the CDC’s advisory committee with no cost-sharing for patients through the end of 2026. AHIP’s commitment is the first real market signal that major insurers will keep paying for children’s immunizations, as well as updated formulations of COVID-19 and flu vaccines, even if the government’s vaccine advisory panel changes its recommendations. Insurers should partner up with medical associations, pharmacies, and vaccine makers to disseminate information at a local level that makes folks aware of their right to vaccine coverage under their health plan.
Physicians’ views on pharmaceutical promotions have soured over the past several years, according to a recently published study in JAMA Health Forum. Doctors rely on drugmakers for resources on the latest medicines, but they don’t want this information to feel overly promotional. Pharma marketers and sales reps need to establish themselves as trustworthy and educational from the very beginning. They must make sure to ask doctors about patients’ needs, conditions, and their experiences with current and past treatments. Marketers can use that information to craft customized materials to show doctors how a drug will help their specific patients.
Younger generations' trust in drug companies is dropping. A new survey shows that many pharma companies are failing to connect with this audience on social media, where they look for health information. To win them back, pharma brands should create social media videos that highlight their history of innovation, rather than focusing on specific products. They can also partner with doctor influencers to create content that removes the stigma around topics like mental health and educates people on treatment options.
A new study shows that Eli Lilly's oral weight loss drug is more effective than Novo Nordisk's oral diabetes drug for type 2 patients. Novo also touted its own clinical study for its higher-dose 25-mg pill, currently under FDA review as “Wegovy pill,” which resulted in average 16.6% weight loss among patients. That’s on par with Wegovy’s injectable version. We think the key to success will come down to pricing. Consumers and payers are balking at current $500 to $1,000 per month injectable drug costs. With lower effectiveness rates, and cheaper upfront manufacturing, pills will likely be priced lower—but just how low will determine market success. A low-cost pill, paired with clear value messaging for distinct audience segments, will drive broader adoption and fuel sales growth.
The FDA claims Hims & Hers’ compounded GLP-1 offering is being falsely marketed on its website, and its Super Bowl weight loss drug ad is under scrutiny for omitting side effect and risk information. Telehealth players in the copycat GLP-1 space can easily change marketing language online, and likely don’t have to worry about adhering to drug advertising laws that apply to pharma manufacturers—yet.
Dozens of pharma direct-to-consumer (D2C) TV ads are under fire as the FDA demands at least 40 commercials be pulled off the air or changed. A spate of untitled warning letters posted on the FDA’s website charge that the TV ads—from Big Pharma companies including AbbVie, AstraZeneca, Novartis, and Pfizer—are false or misleading. It directs marketers to respond within 15 days with plans for corrective action or defend why the ads do not violate guidelines. This is just the first wave of targeted FDA enforcement on high visibility pharma broadcast TV ads. Marketers and ad agencies need to immediately review commercials for potential problems under the new stricter compliance, and proactively retool them. Analyze the FDA letters to figure out what is now acceptable, and dedicate resources, including new generative AI tools, to create and review ads. Create flexible, modular TV ads that can be changed or reworked quickly if needed.
A real-world study on Novo Nordisk’s obesity drug showed patients had significantly reduced “food noise,” which are persistent, unwanted thoughts about eating. Novo surveyed 550 US adults taking Wegovy for weight loss for at least four months. Food brands are already adapting to the weight-loss trend by adding new products tailored to GLP-1 users and right-sizing portions. We detail this in our “Impact of Weight Loss Drugs 2025” report. But there are more opportunities for GLP-1 drugmakers and food companies to partner. We could see GLP-1 friendly grocery lists curated by nutrition experts and integrated into platforms like Instacart or Uber Eats, for example. Or collaborations with ready-made meal companies like Factor or Daily Harvest, which already offer GLP-1 options.
US healthcare workers don’t feel appreciated, and many are considering leaving their current place of employment, according to a recent Harris Poll survey. Some frontline healthcare workers will jump from one hospital or medical clinic to another, but others will leave the industry outright. Provider organizations must proactively invest in developing their employees by offering education and career advancement opportunities, and committing to workplace safety amid rising violence against healthcare workers.
Doctors started paying more attention to information and ads for new weight loss drugs months before they began prescribing them, according to research from ZoomRx. The study tracked obesity health-related web browsing and ad exposures for 279 healthcare providers on digital channels and 204 on TV and connected TV. Pharma companies need to find where doctors are searching or reading about Rx drugs and how their interest in a drug’s information is changing, even before the sales numbers are in. Track Reddit forums and physician social media channels like Sermo and Doximity to gauge behaviors and attitudes and shift marketing plans to meet them. Use sales reps and peer-led webinars to capture early interest—and keep refreshing that marketing with updated data and patient results as competing entrants begin to pull attention away.
Tylenol maker Kenvue is preparing for a government report that may link Tylenol to autism. The company must counter misleading claims by running targeted awareness campaigns. It can partner with influencer marketing agencies to feature women who used Tylenol during pregnancy and doctor-moms. Kenvue's messaging should highlight study data that confirms there is no proven link between Tylenol and autism.
AI is fundamentally changing how pharma and healthcare marketers can reach consumers. As top companies like Novo Nordisk and Genentech highlighted at CMI Media Groups “Hype to Hope to Health” conference, the focus is shifting from simply getting clicks to driving actual conversions. To succeed, marketers must embrace AI tools for smarter customer targeting and ensure content is original and well-structured. With organic search traffic declining, it's crucial to also invest in new channels like connected TV (CTV), which allows for personalized, data-driven messaging to an aging audience that is rapidly adopting streaming services.