A scrappy upstart in the pain pill business takes on mighty Purdue Pharma

CANTON, Mass. — Collegium Pharmaceutical, the scrappy upstart taking on the mighty opioid maker Purdue Pharma, is having a moment.

The company recently convinced Cigna, Humana, Navitus, and top health insurers in Florida and Pennsylvania to cover only its product Xtampza — and not Purdue’s infamous OxyContin — for most patients prescribed the long-acting opioid known to scientists as oxycodone. Earlier this month came another win: The Food and Drug Administration agreed to let Collegium update Xtampza’s label to describe data demonstrating that the capsules are harder than OxyContin to abuse when crushed.

To be sure, Collegium still has a long way to go: It has just 4 percent of the market share for long-acting oxycodone prescriptions, compared to Purdue’s 78 percent for OxyContin. Across the broader market for all types of brand-name, long-acting opioids, Collegium has just under 3 percent of prescriptions, far shy of Purdue’s roughly 60 percent.

But Collegium is gaining traction