Moderna CEO sold more than $400 million in company stock during pandemic

Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel has sold $408 million in company stock since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, during which the firm’s share price soared more than 600% while it developed and rolled out its vaccine.

The Cambridge, Massachusetts-based biotech firm developeꦦd the second🤡-most popular vaccine used to combat COVID-19 in the United States.

The shot jointly developed by Pfꦓizer and BioNTech is the most widely used vaccin♛e in the US.

Since January 2020, Bancel cashed out stock options through the 10b5-1 plan which allows executives to sell a predetermined number of shares at regular intervals to avoid the possibili🍸ty of insider trading, .

But critics say that 10b5-1 doesn’t allow for transparency since executives aren’t required to disclose these transactions to the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Post has 🤡reached out to Moderna seeking comment.

In total, Bancel sold more than 2.8 million sh🦋ares of the company since January 2020.

Last year, Moderna turned its first-ever profit in the 12 years of its existence. It generated $17.7 billion in sales of its COVID-19 vaccine, which it🔯 rapidly developed in conjunction with the National Institutes of Heal💫th.

Moderna also benefited from taxpayer assistance through Operation Warp Speed, the Trump administration’s plan to quickly research and develop a coronavirus vaccine.

The Modeꦛrna vaccine, the only🐼 product that the company has made which has proven a commercial success, has transformed Bancel into a billionaire. His net worth is now estimated at $5.3 billion.

Last year🥂, Democratic Senators Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Chris Van Hollen of Maryland, and Sherrod Brown of Ohio called on the SEC to reform the 10b5-1 rule.

Earlier this year, Bancel said he anticipates pe🌠ople will need a second COVID-19 booster shot this fall as t♛he vaccine’s efficacy wanes🐻 over the next few months.

Moderna an♋nounced during its third-quarter earnings results that commercial booster market sales could reach $2 billion in the United States in 2022.