Spruce Biosciences Ends Kaken Collaboration, Refocuses Pipeline

Spruce Biosciences ( (SPRB) ) has issued an update.

On March 16, 2026, Spruce Biosciences agreed with Kaken Pharmaceutical to terminate their January 2023 collaboration covering tildacerfont for congenital adrenal hyperplasia in Japan, effective March 31, 2026, ending all licenses and rights and eliminating potential milestone and royalty income from that deal. The termination, which carries no penalties for Spruce, follows the cessation of tildacerfont development and reflects the company’s strategic pivot away from that program.

Operationally, 2025 marked a shift in focus toward TA-ERT for MPS IIIB, with positive Type B meetings in February 2026 clarifying the data package for an accelerated approval path and keeping a planned biologics license application on track for the fourth quarter of 2026. Spruce strengthened its commercial and development infrastructure by hiring Chief Commercial Officer Dale Hooks, adding senior regulatory and clinical leaders, and appointing commercial veteran Keli Walbert to its board.

The company also bolstered its balance sheet by securing a loan facility of up to $50 million from Avenue Capital in January 2026, including an initial $15 million tranche, to fund TA-ERT’s advancement and potential launch. As of December 31, 2025, Spruce held $48.9 million in cash and cash equivalents, reported a narrower net loss of $39.0 million versus $53.0 million in 2024, and cut operating expenses to $36.5 million from $61.1 million, largely due to winding down tildacerfont while investing in TA-ERT and SPR202.

R&D spending fell to $19.5 million in 2025 from $46.4 million a year earlier, underscoring the de-emphasis of tildacerfont and the reallocation of resources to the MPS IIIB and CAH biologics pipelines. Long-term data presented in February 2026 at the WORLDSymposium suggested TA-ERT may be disease-modifying, preserving cognitive and motor outcomes versus natural history, which, combined with renewed U.S. incentives for rare pediatric drugs, could enhance Spruce’s competitive position in the rare disease market if approval is secured.

The most recent analyst rating on (SPRB) stock is a Hold with a $60.00 price target. To see the full list of analyst forecasts on Spruce Biosciences stock, see the SPRB Stock Forecast page.

Spark’s Take on SPRB Stock

According to Spark, TipRanks’ AI Analyst, SPRB is a Neutral.

The score is primarily constrained by weak financial performance: zero recent revenue, ongoing large losses, and persistent negative cash flow (even with 2025 improvement), alongside shrinking equity/asset base. Technicals are neutral-to-mixed and do not offset the fundamental pressure. Valuation inputs (P/E of 0.000 and no dividend yield) provide no support based on the provided data.

To see Spark’s full report on SPRB stock, click here.

More about Spruce Biosciences

Spruce Biosciences, Inc. is a late-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing and commercializing novel therapies for neurological disorders with significant unmet medical need. Its lead program is tralesinidase alfa enzyme replacement therapy (TA-ERT) for Sanfilippo syndrome type B (MPS IIIB), and it is also advancing SPR202, an anti-corticotropin releasing hormone monoclonal antibody for congenital adrenal hyperplasia.

The company targets rare, severe pediatric and neurological diseases where there are currently no approved treatments, positioning itself in the orphan drug and rare disease space. Spruce is building commercial capabilities, including leadership hires, to support potential launches and capitalize on regulatory incentives such as the Rare Pediatric Disease Priority Review Voucher program.

Average Trading Volume: 37,458

Technical Sentiment Signal: Sell

Current Market Cap: $81.01M

For detailed information about SPRB stock, go to TipRanks’ Stock Analysis page.