Collegium Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:COLL) executives said at the Jefferies Healthcare Conference that the company is positioned around two main franchises: a legacy pain-management portfolio and a growing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder business following its recent acquisition of AZSTARYS.
Vikram Karnani, Collegium’s president and CEO, described the company as a “strong, commercially focused biopharmaceutical company” operating primarily in responsible pain management and ADHD. He said Collegium has about 450 employees and has seen “very substantial growth” over the past 18 months.
Executives Emphasize Durability of Pain Portfolio
Karnani said Collegium’s pain portfolio consists of XTAMPZA ER, BELBUCA and the NUCYNTA franchise, which includes immediate-release and extended-release medicines. He said the company believes the pain business has a more durable revenue and cash-flow profile than investors may appreciate.
For NUCYNTA, Karnani said authorized generics for both the IR and ER products were launched earlier this year through Hikma. He said Collegium’s guidance assumes a 2% year-over-year decline for the pain franchise, “primarily driven by the AG and generic activity on NUCYNTA.” He added that XTAMPZA and BELBUCA are expected to be flat to low single-digit growers in net revenue.
Colleen Tupper, Collegium’s CFO, said the company expects “a longer and more robust tail” for the pain portfolio. She said Collegium supplies Hikma with product and receives a high profit share from Hikma’s authorized generic sales. She also said commercial availability of tapentadol, the active ingredient in NUCYNTA, is limited, which the company believes has helped shape the competitive landscape.
Tupper said NUCYNTA ER faces its first potential external generic launch from Teva in July 2027, if Teva chooses to launch, with Alkem potentially able to launch in 2028. For XTAMPZA, she said the expected loss-of-exclusivity date is September 2033, with Teva as the first and only filer. She also said it remains unclear whether Teva would choose to launch another opioid product.
For BELBUCA, Tupper said Teva is the earliest potential generic entrant under a settlement that would allow entry in January 2027 if it chooses to launch. She said Teva does not have tentative approval and has relinquished first-filer exclusivity. Tupper said Collegium’s plans are based on the belief that Teva does not intend to launch, though she said the company is monitoring the situation closely.
ADHD Business Expands With AZSTARYS
Karnani said Collegium sees ADHD as a large and growing market, citing 22 million to 23 million patients and 111 million prescriptions in 2025, including 98 million stimulant prescriptions. He said the market is growing at a 6% compound annual growth rate, led by the adult segment at about 8% to 9%.
Collegium acquired Ironshore Therapeutics in September 2024, bringing JORNAY PM into its portfolio. Karnani said JORNAY revenue grew almost 50% year over year in 2025 and that the company has guided to $190 million to $200 million in 2026 revenue, implying 31% growth at the midpoint.
He said growth is expected to come from volume and improvements in gross-to-net performance. Tupper said gross-to-net levels improved from about 71% in fiscal 2024 to about 64% in 2025, and Collegium expects JORNAY gross-to-nets in the mid-60% range for 2026.
With AZSTARYS, which closed on May 12, Karnani said Collegium now has two complementary methylphenidate-based ADHD products. He said the company expanded its target prescriber list from 21,000 to 25,000 and increased its sales force from 180 to 195 representatives.
Karnani said early feedback from the field has been positive, with the broader portfolio helping representatives gain access to some offices that had previously been less receptive to JORNAY alone.
Company Sees Limited Cannibalization Between JORNAY and AZSTARYS
Asked about potential overlap between the two ADHD medicines, Karnani said Collegium’s market research indicated that physicians view them as serving different patient needs. He said JORNAY PM is positioned for patients who need symptom control upon awakening, while AZSTARYS is positioned for patients seeking rapid onset of action lasting up to 13 hours.
Karnani said switching data from IQVIA showed both products were drawing business primarily from generics rather than from each other. He said Collegium expects the two-product portfolio to expand its reach within physician offices rather than materially cannibalize sales.
Tupper said Collegium will record AZSTARYS revenue in the second quarter from May 12 through June 30, but the company is not providing quarterly revenue guidance. She said Collegium expects to see an opportunity to “reinvigorate growth in prescriptions” during the back-to-school season and beyond.
EBITDA, Investment and Capital Allocation
Tupper said Collegium increased EBITDA guidance by $20 million to $25 million to reflect AZSTARYS, calling that a fair representation of expected 2026 contribution. She said accretion should accelerate in 2027 and attributed the near-term impact to gross margin, production costs and additional selling and marketing investments.
Karnani said Collegium’s capital allocation priorities remain unchanged: investing in business development, paying down debt and opportunistically repurchasing shares. He said the company was at about 2 times net debt to EBITDA at the close of the AZSTARYS acquisition and expects to delever over the next six to 12 months toward 1 times net debt to EBITDA, supported by cash generation.
He added that Collegium remains willing to go up to 3 times net debt to EBITDA for business development purposes when appropriate.
About Collegium Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ:COLL)
Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc is a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on the development, manufacture and commercialization of products for pain management and opioid dependence. The company’s core expertise lies in its DETERx microsphere technology, a platform designed to provide extended-release delivery of active pharmaceutical ingredients while deterring manipulation for unintended routes of abuse.
The company’s principal marketed products include Xtampza® ER (extended-release oxycodone), which received approval from the U.S.
