Viking shares jump after positive early data on oral obesity pill; Lilly, Novo drop

Shares of Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) jumped 22% Monday morning after the biotech firm reported promising results for its experimental obesity pill, with increased weight loss observed at higher doses.

Patients on 100-milligram doses of Viking’s (VKTX) VK2735 lost an average of 8.2% of their body weight after 28 days in an early-stage study, or 6.8% more than those taking a placebo, the company said in a presentation at the ObesityWeek meeting Sunday in San Antonio.

The study included 92 people, taking a variety of dose levels, with 100 milligrams the highest. There were no discontinuations of the drug at the highest dose, Viking added, with most common side effects being constipation, nausea and vomiting, similar to other obesity drugs.

VK2735 is a dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist similar to Eli Lilly’s (LLY) blockbuster weight loss drug Zepbound, designed to treat obesity and other metabolic disorders.

Viking plans to begin a phase 2 study of the oral VK2735 for obesity before the end of 2024. The oral version is being developed as an alternative for patients hesitant for injection-based therapy, looking to maintain their weight loss, or transition away from the injectable version of VK2735.

Eli Lilly (LLY) and Novo Nordisk (NVO) – the current leaders in the weight loss segment – are also racing to develop pill-based obesity therapies. Pfizer (PFE) and AstraZeneca (AZN) are also working on oral medications.

The data readouts for the phase 3 trials of Eli Lilly’s oral candidate, orforglipron, will come out in 2025. The candidate last achieved weight loss similar to semaglutide, the active ingredient of Novo’s Wegovy, according to phase 2 data. At its highest dose, it was able to lower body weight by around 15% in 36 weeks when given daily.

Eli Lilly (LLY) and Novo Nordisk (NVO) were down 3.2% and 1%, respectively, ahead of trading on Monday.