> in 2015, ramaswamy raised $360 million for the roivant subsidiary axovant sciences in an attempt to market intepirdine as a drug for alzheimer's disease.[38] in december 2014,[46] axovant purchased the patent for intepirdine from glaxosmithkline (where the drug had failed four previous clinical trials) for $5 million, a small sum in the industry.[39] ramaswamy appeared on the cover of forbes in 2015, and said his company would "be the highest return on investment endeavor ever taken up in the pharmaceutical industry." before new clinical trials began, he engineered an initial public offering (ipo) in axovant.[39] axovant became a "wall street darling" and raised $315 million in its ipo.[46] the company's market value initially soared to almost $3 billion, although at the time it only had eight employees, including ramaswamy's brother and mother.[39] ramaswamy took a massive payout after selling a portion of his shares in roivant to viking global investors.[39] he claimed more than $37 million in capital gains in 2015.[39] ramaswamy said his company would be the "berkshire hathaway of drug development"[6] and touted the drug as a "tremendous" opportunity that "could help millions" of patients, prompting some criticism that he was overpromising.[39] > in september 2017, the company announced that intepirdine had failed in its large clinical trial. the company's value plunged; it lost 75% in one day and continued to decline afterward.[39] shareholders who lost money included various institutional investors, such as the california state teachers' retirement system pension fund. ramaswamy was insulated from much of axovant's losses because he held his stake through roivant.the company abandoned intepirdine. in 2018, ramaswamy said he had no regrets about how the company handled the drug; in subsequent years, he said he regretted the outcome but was annoyed by criticism of the company.axovant attempted to reinvent itself as a gene therapy company, but dissolved in 2023.
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