Weight Loss Drug: Viking Therapeutics Says Lead Obesity Drug Shows Weight Retention with Less Frequent Dosing

Viking Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) stock surged on Tuesday after the company released positive topline results from its much-anticipated VK2735 maintenance trial. The dual GLP-1 and GIP receptor agonist demonstrated superior weight loss maintenance when patients transitioned to reduced subcutaneous dosing schedules compared with placebo. Management plans to explore oral maintenance dosing regimens in an upcoming second phase of the current study. “The results of our innovative maintenance dosing study continue to demonstrate the significance of VK2735’s unique and differentiated half-life and PK profile, which appear to enable an effective new approach to achieving and maintaining the weight loss goals of patients living with obesity,” said Brian Lian, CEO of Viking. “We believe this dose-ranging study clearly demonstrated the potential viability of novel, extended dosing approaches for maintenance following induction with an incretin-based therapy. Read Also: Viking Advances New Amylin-Based Weight-Loss Drug Into Human Trials Progressive Weight Reductions In Induction Phase During the initial 21-week induction period, participants received weekly doses that escalated every two weeks starting in Week 3, reaching target amounts of 15.0 mg, 17.5 mg, 20.0 mg, or 22.5 mg. Treated cohorts achieved weight loss between 16% and 19% compared to virtually zero weight loss in the placebo group. Within the combined treatment groups, 98% of subjects lost at least 5% of their body weight, 90% lost 10%, 65% lost 15%, and 32% lost 20%. An exploratory control group receiving weekly 17.5 mg doses reached 21.7% mean weight loss through 33 weeks, showing continuous progress with no plateau. Robust Weight Retention With Flexible Dosing Following induction, patients transitioned to maintenance dosing regimens for an additional 12 weeks to evaluate monthly and biweekly schedules. Participants on biweekly schedules maintained up to 97% of their mean weight loss, while monthly dosing regimens preserved up to 90%. In comparison, subjects transitioned to placebo retained only 61% of their previous weight loss. Both reduced dosing schedules demonstrated clear separation from placebo within four weeks of transitioning. Favorable Tolerability And Safety Profile VK2735 demonstrated an encouraging safety and tolerability profile throughout the 12-week maintenance window, with gastrointestinal side effects including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation remaining comparable to placebo. Discontinuation rates stayed low across all study arms, as only 1% of participants discontinued treatment due to adverse events during induction. Most gastrointestinal adverse events were mild, declined over time, and were similar to earlier studies using longer titration intervals. VKTX Price Action: Viking Therapeutics shares were up 33.34% at $40.15 during premarket trading on Tuesday, according to Benzinga Pro data. Read Also: Netflix Stock Has ‘a Heck of a Lot of Bad News Priced in,’ Analyst Says Photo: Shutterstock