Exclusive: Blackwater founder Prince takes role in COVID vaccine venture netscape.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from netscape.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
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The word COVID-19 is reflected in a drop on a syringe needle in this illustration taken November 9, 2020. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
Erik Prince, the founder of controversial private military firm Blackwater and a supporter of former President Donald Trump, jumped into the COVID-19 business late last year with a deal to distribute an experimental vaccine should it be approved, according to three people familiar with the arrangement and business records seen by Reuters.
The COVID-19 vaccine, known as UB-612, is being developed by a privately-held U.S. firm called COVAXX.
The company has said the vaccine shows promise in protecting people against coronavirus, based on a small study of 60 patients in Taiwan. It hasn t provided data on safety and efficacy from large clinical trials, information that is usually required before a vaccine is authorized for public use.