Developing and commercializing novel therapies for neurological and endocrine disorders with significant unmet medical need
At Spruce
At Spruce, science meets compassion to deliver targeted therapies for serious neurological conditions—starting with Tralesinidase Alfa Enzyme Replacement Therapy (TA-ERT) for Mucopolysaccharidosis Type IIIB (MPS IIIB).
About Liv Story
Learn more about Liv’s story
Patients Review
“We are inspired by Liv,
living with Sanfilippo Syndrome Type B (MPS IIIB).”
Her courage in facing a relentlessly progressive condition challenges us to move faster and think bolder —because for patients like Liv, time is everything.
MISSION
Our mission at Spruce is to advance targeted, first-in-class therapies that address serious, underserved neurological conditions. At the heart of everything we do is our commitment to patients and their families. They inspire us to go beyond incremental progress to develop transformative therapies born from thoughtful science that leads to meaningful changes in their lives.
ABOUT US
At Spruce, we are guided by an unwavering commitment to patients and families living with serious, underserved neurological conditions. Time matters—and the need for safe and effective treatment is urgent and deeply personal.
For individuals living with MPS IIIB (Sanfilippo Syndrome Type B), and related conditions, current options are limited. That’s why we are advancing TA-ERT, our lead investigational therapy, with a clear goal: to move beyond conventional approaches by delivering outcomes not only measurable—but meaningful.
Guided by science and shaped by the voices of those affected, TA-ERT reflects our commitment to developing therapies that have the potential to meaningfully transform lives. Every decision we make is grounded in data, driven by empathy, and focused on the people who need us most. Their stories fuel our purpose. Their needs define our priorities.
CORE VALUES
Spruce Bio’s Culture is Built on Values of:
BEST PLACES TO WORK
BEST PLACES TO WORK
SAN FRANCISCO BUSINESS TIMES and THE SILICON VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL have recognized Spruce Bio as one of the Bay Area Best Places to Work in 2024 and 2025
BEST PLACES TO WORK
Spruce Bio is proud to be recognized consecutively in 2024 and 2025 as one of the Best Places to Work in the Bay Area—an honor driven by employee engagement, satisfaction, and overall wellness.
At Spruce Bio, cultivating a workplace where people feel supported, inspired, and valued is at the heart of our culture. Our award-winning environment is built around meaningful support and thoughtful programs designed to help employees thrive—personally and professionally.
Rooted in our Core Values, Spruce Bio believes in the importance of giving back. Employees are encouraged to take paid time off to volunteer their time and talents —whether through local blood drives, neighborhood clean-ups, or charitable initiatives that make a meaningful impact.
MEET THE LEADERSHIP TEAM
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
PARTNERING WITH Spruce
Spruce is dedicated to developing and commercializing novel therapies for neurological disorders with significant unmet medical need. We welcome discussion on strategic collaboration opportunities with companies that share in our mission.
For additional information, please contact us at partnering@sprucebio.com.
Contact Us
Spruce Biosciences, Inc.
611 Gateway Boulevard
Suite 740
South San Francisco, California 94080 USA
info@sprucebio.com
Javier Szwarcberg, M.D., M.P.H.
Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Javier Szwarcberg is an accomplished physician executive with over 18 years of leadership experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. He has an exceptionally rich skill set in clinical research and drug development, leading more than 22 clinical trials for a variety of drugs – including small molecules, peptides and biologics – with a proven track record of 4 successful drug approvals. Most recently, Dr. Szwarcberg served as the Group Vice President and Head of Program and Portfolio Development for BioMarin Pharmaceuticals. Previously, he held positions as Senior Vice President, Head of Program and Portfolio Management at Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical and Vice President of R&D and Business Development at Horizon Pharma. He is currently a scientific advisor to Abalone Bio. Dr. Szwarcberg received his MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health and his M.D. from Universidad de Buenos Aires School of Medicine.
Samir Gharib, M.B.A.
President and Chief Financial Officer
Samir Gharib has served as our Chief Financial Officer since May 2020 and President since January 2022. Mr. Gharib is a proven and experienced leader in the global biopharmaceutical arena who has demonstrated success in strategy and execution of transformative capital raises, strategic transactions, and support of commercial product launches. Over the course of his career, Samir has raised nearly $1 Billion from the private and public capital markets, including two IPOs, to fund late-stage clinical development, pipeline expansion and commercialization. From September 2019 to May 2020, Mr. Gharib provided consulting services to various companies with Benchmark Financial Partners (“Benchmark”), a strategic financial advisory firm. From October 2018 to September 2019, Mr. Gharib was the Chief Financial Officer of Stemedica Cell Technologies, Inc., a global pharmaceutical company focused on the development and commercialization of cell therapeutics for underserved medical conditions. From September 2017 to October 2018, Mr. Gharib served as Managing Director of Benchmark. From October 2013 to September 2017, Mr. Gharib held executive positions of increasing responsibility at Revance Therapeutics, Inc., a commercial-stage biotechnology company, including Vice President of Finance and Administration. From January 2011 to September 2013, Mr. Gharib was the Corporate Controller, Director of Finance for Talon Therapeutics, Inc. Mr. Gharib has been an advisor to Berkeley SkyDeck since January 2020. Mr. Gharib received a Bachelor of Science and M.B.A. from the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley, and is an active Certified Public Accountant licensed in the State of California.
Kirk Ways, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Ways, who has served on the Company’s Board of Directors since June 2021, most recently served as Chief Medical Officer of MBX Biosciences. From October 2018 to January 2021, Dr. Ways served as Chief Medical Officer of Nuvelution Pharma, Inc. (“Nuvelution”), a biopharmaceutical company. Prior to joining Nuvelution, Dr. Ways served as Development Head of Cardiovascular and Metabolism at Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Janssen”), a biopharmaceutical company. Prior to joining Janssen, Dr. Ways served in leadership capacities at several life sciences companies, including BioStratum Incorporated as Vice President and Chief Development Officer, Aventis, Inc. as Senior Global Medical Leader and Project Team Leader and Lilly Research Laboratories as a Research Fellow with responsibilities for the preclinical and clinical development for agents treating the chronic complications of diabetes. Prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Ways served as Director of the Diabetes Center, Vice Chairman for the Department of Internal Medicine, Endocrinology Section Head and Professor of Medicine at East Carolina School of Medicine. Dr. Ways has authored more than one hundred publications in the fields of diabetes and cancer. Dr. Ways earned his M.D. with honors and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of North Carolina and graduated with a B.A. magna cum laude from Bridgewater College.
Heidi Petersen, M.P.H.
Senior Vice President, Regulatory and Quality
As Senior Vice President of Regulatory and Quality, Ms. Petersen is responsible for leading the company’s global regulatory affairs and quality strategy. Ms. Petersen is a seasoned industry executive with nearly three decades of experience overseeing global development of biologics and small molecule investigational products in immuno-oncology, infectious disease, and rare disease indications. Prior to joining Spruce, Ms. Petersen was Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs at Mereo BioPharma, and prior to Mereo BioPharma, had roles of increasing responsibility with Kartos Therapeutics, Immune Design, BN-Immunotherapeutics, Pharmacyclics, Chiron Corporation, and Alza Corporation. Ms. Petersen earned a Master of Public Health from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Tulane University.
P.J. Ramtin
Senior Vice President of Business Operations
P.J. Ramtin joins Spruce with more than 20 years of experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries building and leading high-performing teams across development and commercial organizations, as well as patient support functions. She has worked in both start-up companies and global organizations with a focus in rare diseases, in support of the development and commercialization of breakthrough medicines. Prior to joining Spruce, P.J. was Vice President of Business Operations at BridgeBio. Prior to BridgeBio, P.J. held roles of increasing responsibility at Genentech, Regeneron, InterMune, GlaxoSmithKline, and Bristol Myers Squibb. Over the course of her career, P.J. has supported the development and commercialization of over 20 medicines, diagnostics, and delivery devices across oncology, rare disease, and immunology therapy areas. She has a passion for mentoring women in healthcare and volunteering for patient communities.
Dasharatha Reddy, Ph.D.
Vice President, Pharmaceutical Development and Manufacturing
Dasharatha (Dash) joined Spruce with over 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical development of small molecules from discovery to commercialization. Prior to joining Spruce, Dash served as Head of Chemistry, Manufacturing, and Controls (CMC) at Landos Biopharma. Before Landos, Dash was responsible for leading pharmaceutical development and manufacturing operations at Reviva Pharmaceuticals, with a focus on products for the treatment of central nervous system disorders. Dash previously led the development of products leading to the approval of a New Drug Application under the 505(b)2 pathway at Teikoku Pharma USA. In earlier roles, Dash contributed to the development and approval of small molecules to treat a variety of diseases at Spectrum Pharmaceuticals, Relypsa, and Horizon Therapeutics. Dash earned his Ph.D. in Organic Chemistry from the Indian Institute of Science and performed post-doctoral research at Northwestern University.
Saba Sile, MD
Vice President, Clinical Development
Dr. Sile is a seasoned clinical research and development physician with nearly two decades of experience directing and leading clinical development programs that span across multiple therapeutic areas, including cardiovascular, immunology, and rare disease programs. Over the course of her career, Dr. Sile has demonstrated success in executing a biological license application (BLA), FDA advisory committees, clinical trials from Phase 1 to Phase 3 with expertise in all aspects of clinical study conduct. She is an inventive strategist that is passionate about innovation in medicine and clinical development. Dr. Sile joins Spruce from Horizon Therapeutics, where she served as Executive Medical Director of Clinical Development. Prior to Horizon, she held roles of increasing responsibility at Raptor Pharmaceuticals, Gilead Sciences, and BioMarin Pharmaceutical. She earned an M.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and completed Genetics and Nephrology fellowships at Vanderbilt University.
Javier Szwarcberg, M.D., M.P.H.
Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Javier Szwarcberg is an accomplished physician executive with over 18 years of leadership experience in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries. He has an exceptionally rich skill set in clinical research and drug development, leading more than 22 clinical trials for a variety of drugs – including small molecules, peptides and biologics – with a proven track record of 4 successful drug approvals. Most recently, Dr. Szwarcberg served as the Group Vice President and Head of Program and Portfolio Development for BioMarin Pharmaceuticals. Previously, he held positions as Senior Vice President, Head of Program and Portfolio Management at Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical and Vice President of R&D and Business Development at Horizon Pharma. He is currently a scientific advisor to Abalone Bio. Dr. Szwarcberg received his MPH from the Harvard School of Public Health and his M.D. from Universidad de Buenos Aires School of Medicine.
Kirk Ways, M.D., Ph.D.
Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Ways, who has served on the Company’s Board of Directors since June 2021, most recently served as Chief Medical Officer of MBX Biosciences. From October 2018 to January 2021, Dr. Ways served as Chief Medical Officer of Nuvelution Pharma, Inc. (“Nuvelution”), a biopharmaceutical company. Prior to joining Nuvelution, Dr. Ways served as Development Head of Cardiovascular and Metabolism at Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Janssen”), a biopharmaceutical company. Prior to joining Janssen, Dr. Ways served in leadership capacities at several life sciences companies, including BioStratum Incorporated as Vice President and Chief Development Officer, Aventis, Inc. as Senior Global Medical Leader and Project Team Leader and Lilly Research Laboratories as a Research Fellow with responsibilities for the preclinical and clinical development for agents treating the chronic complications of diabetes. Prior to joining the pharmaceutical industry, Dr. Ways served as Director of the Diabetes Center, Vice Chairman for the Department of Internal Medicine, Endocrinology Section Head and Professor of Medicine at East Carolina School of Medicine. Dr. Ways has authored more than one hundred publications in the fields of diabetes and cancer. Dr. Ways earned his M.D. with honors and a Ph.D. in Pharmacology from the University of North Carolina and graduated with a B.A. magna cum laude from Bridgewater College.
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