Vikram Karnani Appointed CEO Of Collegium, Bringing Expertise In Rare Diseases

Collegium Pharmaceutical, Inc., a speciality pharmaceutical company focused on treating severe medical conditions, has announced the appointment of Vikram Karnani as its new President and CEO, effective November 12, 2024. Karnani will also join Collegium’s Board of Directors. Michael Heffernan, who has been serving as Interim President and CEO since May 2024, will continue as Chairman of the Board.

“Vikram’s demonstrated success in building organizations and maximizing their potential through both organic growth and business development makes him the right fit to lead Collegium through its next phase of growth. The outlook for Collegium has never been stronger. With our pain portfolio delivering record revenue and Jornay PM® poised to become our lead growth driver, we are well positioned, with Vikram as our new CEO, for continued success in 2025 and beyond,” said Mr Heffernan.

Karnani has 15 years of experience in the life sciences industry in Collegium. He contributed pivotal work at Horizon Therapeutics that helped the company grow and become one of the most renowned companies in rare disease treatments and expand globally. He ended his tenure at Horizon as head of integrating Horizon's rare disease business into Amgen following their acquisition in 2023. Annual sales doubled under him, from about $300 million to nearly $4 billion for Horizon.

“Collegium is a leader in specialty pharmaceuticals with an impressive track record of commercial growth and capital deployment. It has a talented team dedicated to improving the lives of people living with serious medical conditions. Collegium’s leadership in responsible pain management and recent expansion into neurology underscore the Company’s significant growth prospects and ability to generate value for shareholders. I am excited to join Collegium at this pivotal time and work with this accomplished team to lead the business as we build a leading, diversified speciality pharmaceutical company,” stated Mr Vikram Karnani.

Most recently, Karnani was Executive Vice President and President of Global Commercial Operations and Medical Affairs (Rare Disease) at Amgen, responsible for commercial strategy across Amgen’s rare disease portfolio. Before joining Horizon in 2014, he held senior roles in strategy and business development at Fresenius Kabi. Karnani holds an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, an M.S. in Electrical Engineering from Case Western Reserve University, and a Bachelor’s in Electrical Engineering from the University of Mumbai.