Can Roivant’s business model survive its success?
Roivant Sciences announced two pieces of news Tuesday: that its drug brepocitinib hit its goals in a 26-patient study in an eye disease called non-infectious uveitis, and that the company will be buying back $1.5 billion in stock, including a substantial number of shares owned by the Japanese drug giant Sumitomo.
Like most of Roivant’s drugs, brepocitinib was originally part of the pipeline at a large pharmaceutical company — in this case, Pfizer — and is being developed by a Roivant subsidiary. A previous Pfizer drug was the basis of the Roivant company Televant, which was bought by the drug giant Roche for $7.1 billion late last year.