Djokovic, key stakeholder in a firm developing Covid drug; says CEO
text_fields
A Danish biotech firm is developing a Covid therapy with tennis star Novak Djokovic as its founder and majority shareholder, the company's CEO announced Wednesday.
Djokovic was denied entry to Australia for violating the coronavirus vaccine law.
Ivan Loncarevic, the chief executive of QuantBioRes, said the company is developing a Covid treatment. "He is one of the founders of the company we founded in June 2020," he said.
A Danish business register shows Djokovic, 34, holds an 80 percent stake with his wife, Jelena, in QuantBioRes, which employs about 20 people in Denmark, Slovenia, Australia and Britain.
Loncarevic said, "We decided to develop Covid as a showcase. If we succeed with Covid, we will succeed with other viruses."
In a last-ditch attempt to stay and remain in Melbourne, the unvaccinated men's world number one had been denied a stay in the first grand slam of the year, where he was hoping to win a record 21st major title.
Clinical trials will begin at QuantBioRes in the UK in the summer, the CEO revealed.
In speaking to AFP, Djokovic's spokesman declined to comment on the tennis star's stake in the Danish biotech firm. This was the result of a long and high-profile legal battle between Djokovic and Australian authorities.