Document and Entity Information - shares	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2016	Jan. 17, 2017
Document and Entity Information
Entity Registrant Name	SUPERNUS PHARMACEUTICALS INC
Entity Central Index Key	0001356576
Document Type	10-Q/A
Document Period End Date	Mar. 31, 2016
Amendment Flag	true
Amendment Description	Unless the context requires otherwise, the words "Supernus," "we," "our," and "the Company" refer to Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and its subsidiaries. Supernus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (the Company) is filing this Amendment No. 1 on Form 10-Q/A (the Amended Form 10-Q) to its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2016 (the Original Form 10-Q), which was originally filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on May 10, 2016 (the Original Filing Date), to reflect the restatement of consolidated financial statements (Restatement) as described below. In this Amended Form 10-Q for the fiscal quarter ended March 31, 2016, we are restating our previously issued and unaudited consolidated financial statements and the related disclosures for the three month periods ended March 31, 2016 and March 31, 2015. As discussed in further detail below and in Note 2 to the accompanying consolidated financial statements, the Restatement is the result of a misapplication in the guidance on accounting for revenue recognition related to the sale of future revenues (as described below). We assessed the impact of this misapplication on our prior interim and annual consolidated financial statements and concluded that the impact was material to these consolidated financial statements. Consequently, we have restated the prior period consolidated financial statements identified above. All amounts in this Amended Form 10-Q affected by the Restatement reflect such amounts as restated. For a more detailed explanation of these matters and resulting restatements, please see Part I, Item 1: Financial Statements – Note 2 to the Consolidated Financial Statements; Part I, Item 2: Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Restatement of Previously Issued Consolidated Financial Statements; and Part I, Item 4: Controls and Procedures. For the convenience of the reader, this Amended Form 10-Q sets forth the Original Form 10-Q for the three month period ended March 31, 2016 in its entirety, as amended by and to reflect the Restatement and includes certain restated information for the three month period ended March 31, 2015.
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	No
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		50,121,242
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1