Leadership

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.

Close

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.

Close

Dr. Ways, who has served on the Company’s Board of Directors since June 2021, most recently served as interim 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.

Close

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.

Close

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.

Close

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.

Close

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.

Close