Viking Therapeutics Weight Loss Drug Shows Impressive Potential in Phase 1 Study

Why Viking Therapeutics Stock Is Skyrocketing Today

The high-flying biotech company delivered more good news about a weight loss drug candidate. Shares of Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VKTX) had skyrocketed by 25% as of 11:08 a.m. ET on Tuesday. That big gain came after the company announced results from a phase 1 clinical study evaluating an oral formulation of its experimental obesity drug VK2735.

Viking's Weight Loss Drug Potential

• i>Viking reported that patients in the study who received oral VK2735 experienced up to 3.3% placebo-adjusted mean weight loss after 28 days.
• i>Up to 57% of participants receiving VK2735 achieved weight loss of 5% or more.
  
• The safety and tolerability of the experimental drug were also encouraging, with all reported side effects either mild or moderate.

Investor Optimism

At first glance, you might wonder why there's so much excitement about Viking's phase 1 results. The oral version of VK2735 didn't come close to delivering the 13.1% average weight loss that the injectable version did in its phase 2 study. Viking Therapeutics CEO Brian Lian said the company believes that higher doses of the oral version of VK2735 taken for longer durations could lead to greater weight loss. Investors seem to find that prospect compelling.

Future Outlook

Viking now plans to advance oral VK2735 into phase 2 testing and the injectable formulation into late-stage testing. The company also expects results from its phase 2b study of VK2809 for NASH treatment by mid-2024. Based on the promising pipeline, Viking Therapeutics presents a buy opportunity for aggressive investors.