Top executives at US pharmaceutical company, Novavax Inc, aren’t waiting to see how well their Covid-19 vaccine works before they reap the financial rewards, according to Reuters.

Chief Executive Stanley Erck and three of his top lieutenants have sold roughly $46 million of company stock since the start of last year, according to a Reuters review of securities filings, capitalising on a near 3,000 per cent rally in Novavax shares fuelled by investors betting on the success of the shot under development.

Erck cashed out $8.7 million over the course of 2020, eclipsing the $2.2m in shares he sold in the previous five years. The stock sale amounts to more than 20pc of his vested stake in Novavax, or less than 10pc if stock options that are yet to vest are counted, according to the review of the filings, an analysis by compensation consultant Farient Advisors LLC and a company spokeswoman.

The lucrative liquidations, which have not previously been reported, underscore the transformation in Novavax’s fortunes during the global pandemic and the opportunity for its executives to lock in big profits from market optimism.