45% of US adults say pleasant and happy visuals in pharma ads are misleading, according to November 2025 data from SiriusXM Media.

Speaking with EMARKETER at Web Summit, Vast chief astronaut and former NASA commander Drew Feustel described how the company’s Haven 1 station is designed to shift low Earth orbit from a research environment to a commercial manufacturing platform. Building on decades of ISS science, Vast aims to serve industries like biotech, pharmaceuticals, and advanced materials that benefit from microgravity’s unique conditions. With the space economy expected to reach $1.8 trillion by 2035, Feustel says the next leap is scaling production—from artificial retinas to specialty crystals—into repeatable, revenue-generating processes. For brands and investors, orbit is becoming a legitimate industrial supply chain.

TV ad spending will shrink across every industry this year. Retail and CPG still dominate in size, but other sectors lean on TV more heavily, exposing the uneven role it plays in media strategies.

The sources of ad spending growth are shifting as telecom and financial services surge, while retail and CPG slow but still dominate in scale. Every industry is leaning harder into digital, with social and display ads commanding more budget than ever.

The news: President Trump said to CNBC on Tuesday that forthcoming tariffs on pharma products imported to the US could reach 250%. It’s the highest rate on pharma tariffs that Trump has mentioned to date. Our take: 250% is an enormous number, but it’s more of a threat than an end result that will impair the sector. Such a high levy rate will likely spur further manufacturing commitments, which is something Big Pharma is prepared for—especially if they’re given 18 months to move more production to the US.

The news: The trade deal between the US and EU will include a 15% tariff on pharmaceuticals imported from Europe, the White House said. The final word: Pharma companies and industry trade groups had been holding out hope that their medicines imported to the US would be exempt from tariffs. Not getting that reprieve is a setback—but the 15% rate on its own could be seen as a decent outcome, particularly considering that 200% tariffs were threatened and the Section 232 investigation could lead to a higher levy in other countries.

The news: Linear TV—already struggling amid the rise of digital—is at risk as US leaders across parties push for a crackdown on the multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical ad market. Secretary of Health Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is pursuing policies that would require advertisers to disclose drug side effects more transparently or risk losing the ability to deduct ad spending from their taxes, per Bloomberg. Our take: Restrictions on pharma advertising would isolate linear TV from omnichannel budgets and put it at a greater disadvantage against more data-rich platforms, accelerating the shift to digital.

​​Trump’s tariffs could result in higher healthcare prices: We examine what’s at stake for companies making pharmaceuticals and medical products and explore how the new tariffs run in conflict with Trump’s commitment to lowering prescription drug prices in the US.

President-elect Donald Trump's second term promises profound shifts across commerce, technology, and regulation that will reshape how businesses operate and consumers behave. As the president-elect prepares to take office, his policy priorities are already triggering market reactions and pivots from major corporations.

Half of the drugs launched in the US last year underperformed: We examine why it’s critically important for drugmakers to deliver early returns on their new product launches.

Digital ad spending will continue to accelerate in 2024. Retail will be a main driver due to its large ad outlays and growing contribution on the supply side.

Digital ad spending by healthcare and pharmaceutical companies went through its own upheaval during the pandemic. Now the industry is settling into a new normal for growth in some channels as consumer media habits have changed.

The pandemic upended the conventional process by which pharmaceutical sales reps pitch their drugs to healthcare professionals. Physicians now demand hybrid in-person and virtual meetings. Pharma marketers must assess ways to refine various digital detailing (aka e-detailing) strategies.

The pandemic is becoming endemic, and the changes consumers adapted to in the past two years—such as telehealth and retail health clinics—are here to stay. Healthcare and pharmaceutical advertisers must reassess their digital strategies to boost engagement with consumers and healthcare professionals.

Digital therapeutics (DTx) were gaining popularity as tools to help slash the US’ $3 trillion annual spending on chronic disease, and the pandemic has vaulted digital therapies into the spotlight. Now, the Teladoc-Livongo megamerger is heating up competition in the DTx space as players race to capture a slice of a market slated to reach $56 billion by 2025.

As the coronavirus pandemic persists in the US, marketers are wary about the ads that could appear next to any COVID-19-related content.