>>18393210
>>18393198
>>18393187
https://www.pdsoros.org/news-events/2017-04-03-pursuing-the-potential-of-abandoned-pharmaceuticals
Pursuing the Potential of Abandoned Pharmaceuticals
When Pavan Cheruvu sent Vivek Ramaswamy an email out of the blue in the fall of 2015, he did so because he wanted to work with Vivek, a fellow Paul & Daisy Soros alumnus and the founder of Roivant Sciences, a biopharmaceutical company that aims to accelerate the development of new medicines.
But he wasn’t applying for a job. He was proposing one.
“I realize this is unconventional but I obtained your email from the PD Soros alumni site and I'm reaching out because I've been following your progress over the last year,” wrote Pavan, a 2004 Fellow, on Tuesday, Sept. 15, a few months after Roivant subsidiary Axovant Sciences, which focuses on Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, had a record-breaking IPO. “In brief, I would like to work with you.”
Pavan, who was working as a fellow in cardiovascular medicine at the time, went on to suggest that he fill a position that did not exist at Roivant—chief of staff. After he sent the email, he told his wife he didn’t expect to hear back. But he did. The same day.
The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans supported Vivek at Yale Law School. He graduated in 2013.
After Pavan’s email, the pair connected over the phone on a Saturday at 6:30 a.m. ET, the slot Vivek offered not realizing Pavan lived in San Francisco, where it was only 3:30.
“He sounded fresh as top of the morning,” Vivek said.
Founded in 2014, Roivant—the “Roi” stands for “return on investment”—is parent to a family of subsidiaries that staff members lovingly call “vants.” The companies are focused on rescuing drugs from what Vivek and Pavan describe as the “traffic jam” of the pharmaceutical industry. Roivant invests in drugs that show promise but have, for whatever reason, been abandoned by others, partnering with pharmaceutical companies or universities to complete the development or clinical trial process.
Each “vant” centers on a different therapeutic area. In addition to Axovant, there are Myovant (women’s health and prostate cancer), Enzyvant (rare diseases), and Dermavant (dermatologic conditions). Although none of the companies has a commercial product yet, they are getting close. Enzyvant anticipates a biologic license application in 2018 for a therapy for complete DiGeorge syndrome, a genetic disease; Axovant is completing a Phase 3 clinical study this year on the efficacy of intepirdine (also known as RVT-101) on patients with mild-to-moderate Alzheimer’s.
Vivek’s focus on Alzheimer’s was part of what attracted Pavan to his orbit. Therapies for the disease have eluded researchers for years. Lawrence T. Friedhoff, Roivant’s chief of research and development, helped create one of the leading Alzheimer’s drugs, Aricept, when he was at the pharmaceutical company Eisai. It was approved by the FDA in 1996.