Biotech Company Roivant Sciences Takes 55K SF at Vornado’s Penn 1

Biotech company Roivant Sciences, which was founded by former Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, has taken 55,000 square feet at Vornado Realty Trust (VNO)’s 1 Penn Plaza.

Roivant signed a 15-year lease to move into the penthouse on the entire 54th and 55th floors of the Penn 1 tower just north of Madison Square Garden, The Real Deal reported. Asking rent was $140 per square foot, according to TRD.

Spokespeople for Roivant and Vornado did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Newmark (NMRK)’s Neil Goldmacher and Josh Friedman, who brokered the deal for Roivant, declined to comment. Vornado was represented by an in-house leasing team of Josh Glick and Jared Silverman, who did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The deal marks a relocation for Roivant, whose offices were previously located at the Durst Organization’s 151 West 42nd Street, according to its website.

Ramaswamy founded Roivant in 2014 and transitioned out of his role as CEO in January 2021. He served as chairman until February 2023, when he stepped down from the company’s board of directors to focus on his failed presidential campaign.

Vornado’s Penn 1 has recently undergone $450 million in renovations, including new plazas, updated elevators and lobbies, and an additional 160,000 square feet of amenities, TRD reported.

And the landlord has secured a slew of major tenants at the 57-story tower, including accounting firm Weaver and Tidwell, which signed a lease expansion on the 28th floor last month, and marketing company Cheil, which signed on for 37,000 square feet on the entire 37th floor in July, as Commercial Observer previously reported.

There’s also biotech firm LB Pharmaceuticals, which inked a deal on the 10th floor in June, and law firm Rolnick Kramer Sadighi, which took 5,064 square feet on the 34th floor in February.

Isabelle Durso can be reached at idurso@commercialobserver.com.