Shares of Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) are soaring 36% today on impressive new results in an early-stage maintenance study of VK2735, its dual GLP-1 and GIP agonist.
What exactly happened
Viking’s maintenance study read out today, and the headline numbers are eye-popping:
- 22% placebo-adjusted weight loss at week 33 (weekly dosing)
- Up to 97%(!) of weight loss from the weekly phase retained after moving to biweekly dosing for three months
- Up to 90% of weight loss retained after moving to monthly dosing for three month
And I can’t do the next part justice on my own, so I’ll just quote it directly: “Excellent tolerability observed during maintenance dosing with GI adverse event rates similar to placebo.”
This is a big deal.
Why this matters
Viking is working to position VK2735 as something more than “just” another weight-loss drug.
One of the difficulties with well-known GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Trulicity is that they come laden with side effects, including diarrhea, bloating, nausea, vomiting, and rarer but far more severe conditions like pancreatitis and gallbladder disease.
Patients are willing to tolerate these side effects for the powerful impact that weight-loss drugs can have…but only up to a point.
Enter VK2735, with a maintenance phase built around less frequent dosing…featuring a side effect profile that’s much friendlier to patient compliance.
Dr. Louis Aronne, former president of The Obesity Society and a consultant to Viking Therapeutics, noted: “Flexibility for patients and providers is paramount for achieving treatment persistence leading to the long-term benefits of weight control and these results are an important step in that direction.”
What’s next
This was an early-stage study, and VK2735 will need to have its impressive results confirmed in a larger study before filing for approval. Fortunately, Viking has plenty of cash on its balance sheet for funding that expensive trial…
…and given the impressive results, if management needs to dilute shareholders with a follow-on equity offering, I expect plenty of takers.
The weight-loss drug market could be worth $150 billion by 2030 according to third-party estimates from Morgan Stanley. VK2735 only has to capture a tiny percentage of that TAM to justify a valuation many times larger than Viking’s, even after today’s pop.
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