Viking Therapeutics' obesity drug shows durable weight-loss benefit, shares jump

Sept 22 — Viking Therapeutics said patients shifted to a less frequent dosing ​regimen of its experimental obesity treatment showed superior weight loss maintenance to those on placebo, in a study, ‌sending its shares up 40% before the bell.

The company said on Tuesday that ⁠patients who switched to an ​every-other-week dosing of VK2735 maintained ⁠up to 97% of the weight they had lost ‌during an initial ‌21-week treatment period, while those on a monthly dosing ⁠retained up to 90% of ⁠their prior weight loss over the following 12 weeks.

Oppenheimer analysts said, ahead of the data, that VK2735's competitive advantage may lie in its "long-term persistence, flexibility, convenience and continuity of care," rather than solely the extent of the initial ‌weight loss.

The obesity market is dominated ​by treatments from pharma majors Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, which are locked in a battle for market share through effective and convenient treatments including injections and pills.

By developing both injectable and oral versions of VK2735, Viking is seeking to carve out a place for itself in the ​fast-growing sector by offering more flexible dosing options that could ‌reduce treatment burden.

Analysts ‌expect the ⁠obesity market to reach $100 billion in annual sales by 2030.

In a small study group that continued weekly treatment for 33 weeks, patients lost an average of 21.7% of their body ‌weight, Viking said.

It said ​that it plans to study oral ‌maintenance dosing in ⁠a future ​part of the trial.

(Reporting by Padmanabhan Ananthan in Bengaluru; Editing by ​Shinjini Ganguli)

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