Vivek Ramaswamy's artful narrative, meticulously tailored for the GOP primary voter, weaves a tale of principled sacrifice and success. According to his version, he helmed the leadership of Roivant, a multi-billion-dollar American pharmaceutical company he founded, and gallantly relinquished his CEO role in 2021 due to his unwavering stance against ESG principles, despite facing opposition from his liberal workforce. While this narrative might seem appealing, it is akin to the endless "flip-flops" that have plagued his campaign—an elaborate work of fiction that unravels upon a modicum of scrutiny.
Let's start with the basics. Ramaswamy has funded his campaign through the
sale of over $32 million in Roivant stock options in February of this year. This could lead one to believe that Roivant, based in Bermuda, is thriving and that Ramaswamy is a great entrepreneur. Except the company
reported staggering losses of $1.2 billion in its financial report of March 2023. This isn't a one-time slump: In March 2022, when Ramaswamy was still Roivant's chairman and a major shareholder, the company
reported an annual loss of $924.1 million.
Ramaswamy's defenders may argue that Roivant performed better during his tenure as CEO in 2021, but alas, the numbers tell a different story. The reality is that Roivant's finances were abysmal under Ramaswamy's watch. During his tenure in
2019, the company's net operating loss exceeded $530 million. By
2020, the losses had doubled to over $1 billion, accompanied by a 65 percent decline in revenue.
Axovant had acquired the drug for $5 million in December 2014, six months before the IPO, after the
majority of Phase 2 trials had "failed to meet their primary endpoints" in 2010. Ramaswamy devised a
solution: His mother, Dr. Geetha Ramaswamy, conducted a new Phase 2 trial in 2015 involving "684 subjects." This trial conveniently claimed to demonstrate sufficient improvement to "support Phase 3" trials.
The aftermath was a triumphant $350 million IPO in 2015, followed by a drastic fall. By September 2017, the stock had plummeted 75 percent after Ramaswamy and his mother announced the Phase 3 trial's failure. Subsequent trials continued to disappoint, culminating in a 99 percent loss in
value and a name change for the company.
While investors suffered significant losses, Ramaswamy profited from a higher media profile, IPO payouts, and the sale of remaining Axovant assets in 2020.
Both parties are already led by scandal-plagued octogenarians. The last thing we need is a millennial conman pretending to be a presidential candidate.
www.newsweek.com
The upstart Republican candidate has made inaccurate claims about climate change as well as the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, while mischaracterizing his own positions and past comments.
www.nytimes.com
www.politifact.com
www.msnbc.com
