Early Life and Education
Vivek Ganapathy Ramaswamy was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, to Indian immigrant parents. His father worked as an engineer and patent attorney, and his mother was a geriatric psychiatrist. Ramaswamy attended St. Xavier High School, graduating as valedictorian in 2003. He graduated summa cum laude with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Biology from Harvard University in 2007. He was also a member of Phi Beta Kappa. He earned a J.D. degree from Yale University in 2013.
Rise to Success
Ramaswamy began his career in finance, working at the hedge fund QVT Financial from 2007 to 2014, where he focused on biotech investments and became a partner. At 29, he founded Roivant Sciences in 2014, a biotechnology firm with the goal of acquiring and developing pharmaceuticals. The company's strategy involved purchasing patents from larger pharmaceutical companies for drugs that had not been successfully developed, and then bringing them to market. Roivant had a successful IPO of its subsidiary Axovant, but the drug Intepirdine failed in clinical trials. In 2020, Sumitomo Dainippon purchased a portfolio of five Roivant drugs and a 10% stake in the company for $3 billion. Ramaswamy stepped down as CEO of Roivant in January 2021 but remains a significant shareholder.
Key Business Strategies
Roivant Sciences' business model focused on acquiring and developing pharmaceuticals that had been overlooked. This strategy allowed the company to acquire promising drug candidates and advance them through the development process. Ramaswamy also co-founded Strive Asset Management in 2022, an investment firm that positions itself as an alternative to large asset managers.
Philanthropy
In 2020, when Ramaswamy was CEO of Roivant Sciences, the company established Roivant Social Ventures (RSV), a nonprofit social-impact arm. While his presidential campaign opposed ESG initiatives, RSV supported pro-DEI and ESG initiatives, including promoting health equity and diversity within the biopharma and biotech industries.
