Our Mission
We are relentless in our pursuit of improving the lives of people impacted by neurological and endocrine disorders. We listen, and place the unique needs of patients and families at the forefront of all we do.
Our Company
Spruce Bio is a biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing novel therapies for neurological and endocrine disorders with significant unmet medical need.
Spruce is developing tildacerfont as a precision treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD) in collaboration with HMNC Brain Health, leveraging its proprietary precision diagnostic tool, Cortibon, to identify patients most likely to respond to treatment. Tildacerfont has the potential to mediate responses to stress, which may be able to address up to 50% of MDD patients worldwide using Cortibon.
Tildacerfont may also benefit patients with other disorders characterized by elevated levels of or hyperresponsiveness to adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), a hormone involved in the production of cortisol, including polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS).
We are relentless in our pursuit of improving the lives of people impacted by neurological and endocrine disorders. We listen, and place the unique needs of patients and families at the forefront of all we do.
Spruce is dedicated to developing and commercializing novel therapies for neurological and endocrine 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.
611 Gateway Boulevard
Suite 740
South San Francisco, California 94080 USA
info@sprucebio.com
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 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.
Dr. Will Charlton has served as our Chief Medical Officer since March 2022. He is an accomplished physician-scientist with nearly two decades of experience as a clinician and industry executive building successful programs across clinical development, medical affairs and drug safety. He joined Spruce from 89bio, Inc., where he served as Vice President, Clinical Development. Prior to 89bio, he was Senior Medical Director, Clinical Development at Ascendis Pharma. Prior to Ascendis, Dr. Charlton served as Executive Medical Director, Clinical Development, Liver Therapeutic Area at Allergan. Prior to his career in industry, Dr. Charlton spent over a decade in clinical practice as a board-certified pediatric endocrinologist. Dr. Charlton earned a medical degree from the University of Southern California. He completed his pediatric residency at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles and his fellowship in Pediatric Endocrinology at the University of California, San Francisco.
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 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 (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.
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.
Mike Grey has 40 years of experience in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries and has served as Executive Chairman of the Spruce Board since 2017. He has founded several biotechnology companies and is currently chairman or executive chair of Mirum Pharmaceuticals, Inc., Plexium, Inc. and Reneo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. He also serves as venture partner at Pappas Capital. Previously, Mr. Grey founded and was President and Chief Executive Officer at Lumena Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a company developing treatments for pediatric and adult orphan diseases, until its acquisition by Shire Plc. Mr. Grey has held senior positions at a number of companies, including President and Chief Executive Officer of Auspex Pharmaceuticals, Inc., President and Chief Executive Officer of SGX Pharmaceuticals, Inc., which was acquired by Eli Lilly in 2008, President and Chief Executive Officer of Trega Biosciences, Inc., which was acquired by Lion Bioscience in 2001, and President of BioChem Therapeutic Inc. For approximately 20 years, Mr. Grey served in various roles with Glaxo, Inc. and Glaxo Holdings plc, culminating in his position as Vice President, Corporate Development and Head of International Licensing. Mr. Grey serves on the board of directors of Horizon Therapeutics plc.
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.
Tiba has served as a director on the Spruce Biosciences board since 2016. Tiba was most recently a senior partner at Novo Ventures (US) Inc., joining the company in 2010. Tiba’s experience spans research, banking, and venture investing in life sciences across various therapeutic areas and technology platforms. Tiba serves on the boards of MAllievex, Avalyn Biosciences, Nkarta Therapeutics, Arcellx Inc, MDLive, and Aristea Therapeutics. Tiba previously served as a board member for Mirum Pharmaceuticals, AnaptysBio, iRhtyhm Technologies, and Cianna Medical. Prior to joining Novo A/S, Tiba was a Director with Burrill & Company, where she completed regional and cross-border M&A, licensing, and financing transactions for biotech and large pharmaceutical companies. Tiba is also a published author of scientific articles and book chapters in the area of rational drug design. Tiba received her Ph.D. in biophysics at the University of California, San Francisco where her research involved developing computational methods for drug discovery. Tiba has a B.S. in physics from the University of California, Irvine.
Mr. Barretto-Ko is a life sciences industry veteran with over 20 years of commercial expertise and biopharmaceutical experience across various therapeutic focuses. Most recently, he has served as President and Chief Executive Officer at Plexium, Inc. Prior to joining Plexium, Mr. Barretto-Ko served in numerous roles at Astellas Pharma Inc., including the Chief Business Officer and President of Astellas Pharma US, from 2005 to 2021. Prior to joining Astellas, Mr. Barretto-Ko served in increasingly senior roles at Roche UK and US from 2001 to 2005. Mr. Barretto-Ko earned his B.S. in Biological Sciences and Chemistry with Honors from Cornell University and an M.B.A. from Yale University. In addition, he served as a Sloan Fellow for Innovation and Global Leadership at the MIT Sloan School of Management, where he was awarded an M.S. degree in Management. Mr. Barretto-Ko is a board member of Alessa Therapeutics, Inc., a pharmaceutical company, and Americares, a health-focused relief and development organization that serves people affected by poverty or disaster with life-changing medicine and health programs.
Bali is a partner at Abingworth LLP. Bali has 15 years professional experience in healthcare across a range of functions including venture investing, R&D and clinical practice. Prior to joining Abingworth, Bali was a senior partner at MVM Partners LLP where he sat on a number of boards, public and private. In 2018, Bali was named among Financial News’ Rising Stars in Private Equity, which celebrated 25 men and women under the age of 40 standing out in the European private equity industry. Before MVM, Bali was a member of Bain Capital’s healthcare deal team. Bali obtained a degree in clinical medicine from the University of Oxford and practiced general surgery at the John Radcliffe and Addenbrooke’s Hospitals in Oxford and Cambridge, respectively. Bali has a Ph.D. in translational cancer research from the MRC Cancer Cell Unit, University of Cambridge, and has published over a dozen peer reviewed papers. Mr. Muralidhar was also a Bye-Fellow in Medical Sciences at Downing College, Cambridge where he taught pathology, surgery and medicine.
Camilla has served as a director of the Spruce Biosciences board since 2017. Camilla has 25+ years in the life sciences industry. Camilla has significant experience in global drug development and registration, due diligence and M&A plus leadership of globally based teams, talent and change management. Currently, Camilla is CEO of Zehna Therapeutics, Inc a seed stage startup and spin out of the Cleveland Clinic. Prior to this, Camilla founded Rare Strategic LLC where she provided strategic advice to early stage venture-backed companies. Previously, Camilla was Senior Vice President and Head of Product Portfolio Development at BioMarin, where she was responsible for Corporate and R&D Governance, Program Leadership, Project Management, Competitive Intelligence, Portfolio Strategy and Business Analytics. Prior to leading Product Portfolio Development, Camilla led BioMarin’s Global Regulatory Affairs group. Prior to BioMarin, Camilla spent 12 years at Shire Pharmaceuticals, where after multiple roles of increasing responsibility, held the position of Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Early Development and Business Development. Before Shire, Camilla spent seven years at Abbott Laboratories. Camilla holds a BS.c. from University College Galway, Ireland, BS.c Hons from Kingston University, U.K. and an MSc with distinction from the University of London.
Dan is an accomplished executive with extensive commercial, financial and strategic leadership experience during an extensive career in the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on rare diseases. Dan previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of BioMarin. Prior to BioMarin, he served as a consultant to provide strategic financial management support to a portfolio of public and private life science companies. Prior to his consultancy, Dan served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of CV Therapeutics. Prior to CV Therapeutics, he served in various roles at Genentech, most recently as Treasurer. Dan currently serves on the boards of directors for Myriad Genetics, Recardia Therapeutics and Tizona Therapeutics. He received a B.A. from Stanford University and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Kirk Ways, M.D., Ph.D. has served as a director of the Spruce Biosciences board since June 2021. Dr. Ways is an experienced endocrinologist who brings more than 30 years of extensive pharmaceutical drug discovery and development experience to Spruce’s board of directors. Until January 2021, Dr. Ways served as Chief Medical Officer of Nuvelution Pharma. Prior to joining Nuvelution, Dr. Ways headed several drug development units at Johnson & Johnson’s Pharmaceutical Research and Development group, with focus on metabolic disease, women’s health, cardiovascular disease, gastrointestinal disease and internal medicine. Prior to joining Johnson & Johnson, Dr. Ways served in leadership capacities at BioStratum Incorporated as Vice President and Chief Development Officer, Aventis 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. An accomplished researcher, Dr. Ways has authored more than one hundred publications in the fields of diabetes and cancer.