Alfred P. Spada, Ph. D. serves as Histogen’s Executive Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer. Dr. Spada is a seasoned veteran of pharmaceutical discovery and development with over 35 years of combined experience in large Pharma and Biotech. Dr. Spada most recently served as President and CEO of Aya Biosciences focused on the discovery and development of novel therapies for the treatment of severe neuropsychiatric disorders where he identified the company’s orally active clinical candidate and completed necessary IND-enabling studies to position the asset for clinical evaluation. Prior to joining Aya Biosciences, Dr. Spada was co-founder , EVP of R&D and CSO of Conatus Pharmaceuticals until its merger with Histogen in May 2020. At Conatus, Dr. Spada was responsible for the management of all preclinical and safety activities and assisted in the generation of IND packages and presentations to support the company’s clinical assets. Prior to Conatus, Dr. Spada was the VP of Preclinical and Pharmaceutical Development at Idun Pharmaceuticals until its acquisition by Pfizer in 2005 and prior to Idun, the Director of Chemistry in the United States for Rhone-Poulenc Rorer and Aventis Pharmaceuticals. Dr. Spada received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from MIT and conducted post-doctoral studies at Yale. Dr. Spada holds a BS in chemistry from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.
Current role