VKTX Stock Surged 30 Percent After Viking's Obesity Drug Showed 22 Percent Weight Loss In New Data
Viking Therapeutics stock jumped more than 30 percent in premarket trading Tuesday after the San Diego biotech released Phase 1 maintenance study data showing its obesity drug VK2735 delivered 22 percent average weight loss over 33 weeks, and that patients who had already lost weight on the drug could maintain their results by switching to less frequent dosing regimens.
VK2735 is a dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist, the same mechanism as Eli Lilly's Zepbound, being developed in both injectable and oral formulations.
The maintenance data is significant because one of the biggest challenges in the obesity drug market is what happens after patients reach their target weight: whether they need to remain on weekly injections indefinitely or can space doses out.
Viking's data suggests spacing out is viable, which would make the drug more convenient and potentially reduce side effects and cost for long-term users.
The stock was trading around $41 heading into the announcement. Viking ended Q2 with $502 million in cash and is preparing to start Phase 3 trials of the oral version of VK2735 in the fourth quarter of 2026. Oral obesity drug data in 2027 is the next major catalyst. The consensus Wall Street price target coming into Tuesday was approximately $95.
