U.S. campaigns make up 42% of shortlisted entries in the Pharma Lions categories at the Cannes Festival of Creativity, up from one-third in 2017.

Of 53 campaigns shortlisted by a 10-strong jury led by FCB Health chief creative officer Rich Levy, 22 came from the U.S. – 14 of them associated with FCB network companies.

In the regulated DTC categories, all three of the shortlisted campaigns originate in the U.S.: Allergan’s Not Cool and The Moose Spa – April Fools activations in its Cool Sculpting campaign produced by FCB Health Network’s Area 23 and Merck’s What Invention Can’t You Wait For? by Marina Maher Communications.

Boehringer Ingelheim and FCB Health were nominated nine times for three campaigns related to its Stiolto Respimat inhalation spray for COPD – Garage, Kitchen, and Living Room.

Novartis was shortlisted along with Klick Heath for the pharma company’s The Wrestler activation; Bayer received two mentions for its Battle in the Bone activation, also in partnership with FCB Health.

Biogen scored two shortlisted entries, while Pfizer, Takeda, Eli Lilly, and Elanco all registered one.

The winners will be unveiled at a gala ceremony in Cannes on Monday evening (mid-afternoon Eastern Standard Time).

In the Health and Wellness Lions, the U.S. accounted for 35 of 158 shortlisted entries, 22% of the total.

Reckitt Benckiser made up two of the three nominated campaigns in the OTC Oral Medicines category, both for Mucinex’s #SuperSickMonday activation in partnership with McCann.

This jury is being presided over by R. John Fidelino, executive creative director at InterbrandHealth in New York, with about 1,500 entries reviewed this year.

Another U.S. juror on the 11-strong panel, Collette Douaihy, EVP and executive creative director at Digitas Health, told MM&M the work demonstrated that companies have to continue to push and show value and commitment beyond just the brand.

“We’re seeing a lot of films and moving pictures this year,” she added. “We’re seeing a lot of different ways of pushing out their stories through entertainment and bringing awareness to different disease states.”

She noted that small and large brands alike are committing to immersive storytelling and long-form content.

“It’s the world we live in today and the way we take content in,” said Douaihy. “[Brands] are learning from each other but also from the film industry. Storytelling has got more competitive and beautiful.”

The Health and Wellness Lions will also be presented on Monday afternoon Eastern Standard Time.