Staying up to date on every healthcare advertising trend is easier said than done these days, which is why we’re curating a weekly digest with all the top headlines on our radar. Check back every Friday for the latest news in healthcare advertising, pharma, and ad tech.

Healthcare Advertising Highlights

• Artificial intelligence technology is impacting many industries. In this article for AdExchanger, Publicis Health Media’s GVP of data and technology Stefanos Kapetanakis talks about the role of AI in healthcare, and the opportunities it presents for pharma marketing and healthcare advertising.
• According to Nielsen’s annual State of Play video report, ad-supported video-on-demand (AVOD) now accounts for 25% of total streaming time. AVODs are also attracting more diverse audiences than both traditional TV and subscription-based video-on-demand (SVOD); Pluto and Tubi each attract more than twice as many Black viewers as traditional linear TV.

Pharma Industry Updates

• In COVID-related news, CureVac and GlaxoSmithKline starting the clinical development of a second-generation COVID-19 vaccine candidate, while a study from Merck and Ridgeback Biotherapeutics has shown that molnupiravir was associated with more rapid elimination of infections SARS-CoV-2 than placebo.
• This week’s FDA approvals include Novartis’s alpelisib as the first drug to treat an ultra-rare cluster of conditions caused by mutations in a specific gene, and Gilead’s Yescarta as an initial treatment for adult patients with relapsed or refractory large B-cell lymphoma.
• In partnerships and acquisitions, Pfizer is acquiring ReViral, a company focused on novel antiviral therapeutics for respiratory syncytial virus (RSV), and Takeda is partnering with Evozyne to develop next-generation therapies for up to four rare disease targets.

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