Endpoints highlights how Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy’s positions have changed radically in just a few short years, back when he made his fortune in pharma:
“in 2020, Ramaswamy backed Roivant’s launch of an ESG investment arm.
Dubbed Roivant Social Ventures, or RSV, the fund aims to “generate substantial social returns and reinvest financial returns to drive long-term impact,” according to its website. Among its stated goals are increasing diversity in clinical trials, investing in and incubating early-stage biotechs to bring new drugs to underserved patient groups, and creating more diversity, equity and inclusion opportunities for biopharma leaders…
In 2017, he founded Shanghai-headquartered Sinovant, with the goal of ‘bringing innovative medicines to China and advancing Chinese biopharmaceutical innovation abroad,’ according to a Roivant press release. He formally unveiled the company in July 2018 with three drug programs and recruited a team of Chinese researchers to spearhead its efforts.
Sinovant’s financial partner on the deal was Citic Private Equity, or CITIC PE, a subsidiary of the Chinese state-owned conglomerate Citic Group. Launched in 1979 during the leadership of Deng Xiaoping, Citic Group was China’s biggest state-run company as of 2019 and owns and invests in banks, airlines and new technologies…
At least six current and former biotech and pharmaceutical executives have donated to his campaign, with contributions ranging from $500 to $6,600.
Some of their reasons were political, and some gave because of personal relationships with Ramaswamy. Four of the six either work at, or used to work at, a Roivant subsidiary.”