Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VKTX) stock rose by 19.2% in June, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence.
The move comes as optimism rises over the company’s pipeline development program, notably in weight-loss drugs, and the initiation of a Phase 1 study in a new class of weight-loss drugs that offers a different mechanism from the current GLP-1/GIP class
Viking Therapeutics and VK2735 Speaking of GLP-1/GIP class drugs, Viking’s lead drug candidate, VK2735, is a GLP-1/GIP agonist. It’s part of a crowded field that includes blockbuster weight loss drugs from Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) and Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO). That said, VK2735 does have some distinguishing characteristics that mark it out from rivals.
As previously discussed, VK2735 has demonstrated a steeper rate of weight loss in the treated groups in Phase 2 clinical trials for both oral and injectable formulations. The hope is that Viking will demonstrate similar efficacy with no safety or tolerability issues in the ongoing Phase 3 trial for injectable VK2735, as well as in the Phase 3 trial for oral VK2735, which is due to start later this year. Investors will probably have to wait until 2027 and 2028, respectively, for the results of those trials.