Viking Therapeutics Shares Surge After Positive Clinical Trial Results for Obesity Drug
Shares of Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VKTX) rose by over 35% on Tuesday following the release of positive clinical trial results for its experimental obesity drug, VK2735. Patients receiving weekly doses lost between 16% and 19% of their body weight after 21 weeks—far exceeding placebo outcomes—and showed continued progress without a plateau effect. The study also evaluated maintenance dosing regimens over an additional 12 weeks. Participants who switched to every-other-week or monthly schedules retained the majority of their initial weight loss, with minimal gastrointestinal side effects and low discontinuation rates reported during this phase. Viking's CEO highlighted that these findings could offer flexible treatment options for long-term adherence. The obesity drug market is projected to reach $150 billion by 2035 according to Morgan Stanley, positioning VK2735 as a potential contender against dominant players like Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk. Analysts have expressed optimism about Viking's future performance based on these results.
Topics: biopharma Viking Therapeutics VK2735 weight loss drug