Paid Search Power Plays: Who’s dominating Pharma PPC in 2025?

The pharma PPC landscape is one of the most competitive and tightly regulated markets in digital advertising, where brands must balance compliance with meaningful patient engagement. Now, with AI-powered tools like AI Overviews (AIOs) and large language models (LLMs) changing how people search, the game is evolving faster than ever.

With Adthena’s Market Share Reports, you can see a snapshot of how Immunology and cardiology brands are performing, along with the emerging role of AI in shaping campaigns. These reports are powered by Ask Arlo, Adthena’s GenAI agent, which decodes PPC data into ​​instant, personalized insights you can act on.

The immunology PPC landscape shows tight competition with no single dominant player. Skyrizi.com leads with 13.8% of clicks, followed by Dupixent.com (10.7%) and Bimzelx.com (8.9%). Tremfya.com (8.4%) and Otezla.com (5.8%) round out the top tier, while 35.8% of traffic spreads across smaller competitors, highlighting the dispersed nature of this category.

Key insight: With market share tightly compressed, differentiation is the critical success factor. Leaders like Skyrizi, Dupixent, and Bimzelx are gaining ground through strong brand presence paired with targeted campaign execution. For smaller players, breaking through requires focused positioning and messaging that addresses specific patient needs, broad approaches won’t cut through in this crowded space.

Ad Copy Spotlight

Core message strategies: Top-performing creatives emphasize FDA approval, patient savings, and treatment accessibility. Messaging in this category balances reassurance with practical benefits, aiming to win over both patients and HCPs.

Brand positioning breakdown:

• Dupixent.com leads with patient-focused messaging, driving credibility through FDA-approved treatment claims.
• DupixentHCP.com complements this with professional guidance for healthcare providers, reinforcing authority across both touchpoints.
• Bimzelx.com underscores FDA approval while highlighting patient-centric outcomes.
• Opzelura.com differentiates with a needle-free eczema treatment, appealing to convenience and comfort.
• Skyrizi.com focuses on safety and prescribing information, giving patients and physicians confidence in the treatment choice.
  

Takeaway: In immunology PPC, regulatory credibility plus patient-first messaging dominate the conversation. Brands that can combine medical authority with ease-of-use benefits are best positioned to capture incremental clicks in this fragmented landscape.

View the full US Immunology Market Share report

Cardiology remains a category where big brands dominate. Repatha.com leads with 28.6% of clicks, supported by RepathaHCP.com (20.38%), giving Amgen nearly half the market between its patient and HCP domains. Veltassa.com holds 8.08%, with the remainder spread across smaller competitors like Vyndamax.com (3.95%), Naomiw.com (2.89%), and others.

Key insight: Coordinating consumer and HCP campaigns continues to deliver outsized returns. Leaders like Amgen use dual-domain strategies to reinforce trust and capture demand across the full funnel.

Ad Copy Spotlight

Core message strategies: Top-performing creatives in cardiology highlight authority, trust, and treatment relevance. Conversion is driven by credibility, clinical backing, and patient reassurance.

Brand positioning breakdown: 

• Ascension.org leans on institutional authority, promoting its “Top 50 Heart Hospital” status to establish immediate trust.
• Mayo Clinic differentiates with research-backed care, positioning itself as the innovation leader.
• Nexlizet.com narrows in on patient needs, specifically addressing those intolerant to statins.
• Repatha maintains consistent, dosing-focused messaging across both consumer and HCP sites, reinforcing its role as a trusted standard of care.

View the full US Cardiology Market Share report

As AI transforms how patients and healthcare professionals search for information, pharma brands must adapt their strategies to remain visible in an increasingly AI-mediated search landscape.

Adthena’s Search Landscape showing AIO frequency changes over the last 7 weeks in the US healthcare market.

Adthena’s AIO Dashboard reveals AI Overview Frequency, Complex Query Frequency, Search Intent Distribution, and individual search term breakdown for the US healthcare market.

Healthcare stands apart, with AIOs appearing on more than half of all queries for the search term “treatment”, the highest penetration across industries. This makes sense given the nature of user behavior: 87% of healthcare queries are problem solving in intent, and Google has leaned on AIOs to provide quick informational answers.

Healthcare advertisers should re-evaluate ad copy based on funnel stage and query type. For high AIO queries, more targeted lower-funnel messaging that emphasizes trusted solutions, professional care, or product options will resonate once the informational need is met. On queries with lower AIO presence, upper and mid-funnel ad copy can continue to capture attention earlier in the journey.

Brands leveraging these AI insights are better positioned to capture incremental clicks, minimize wasted spend, and adapt quickly to changes in patient and HCP search behavior.

Looking ahead

As 2025 progresses, the combination of strategic spend, multi-channel presence, and AI-powered insights will define the leaders in pharma PPC. Brands that embrace AI tools and LLM-driven intelligence will not only capture more clicks but also stay ahead in a highly competitive, regulated, and evolving landscape.

Discover how Adthena’s AI-powered insights can give your pharma brand the competitive edge. Schedule a demo to see your market position and unlock opportunities your competitors are missing.