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Viking Therapeutics shares surge after VK2735 weight-loss trial results
VK2735 patients lost 16% to 19% of body weight after 21 weeks, while the placebo group saw no weight loss, and the company is also testing less frequent dosing for maintenance.
Viking Therapeutics said its weight-loss drug candidate VK2735 delivered strong results in a clinical trial, sending the company shares up 35.67% to close at $40.85 on Tuesday, just under its 52-week high.
According to Yahoo Finance, after 21 weeks of treatment, trial participants who received VK2735 lost between 16% and 19% of their body weight, compared with none in the placebo group. Participants were randomized to weekly VK2735 or placebo, and dosing was escalated every two weeks starting in Week 3 until reaching final doses of 15 mg, 17.5 mg, 20 mg, or 22.5 mg.
During a 12-week maintenance period, the company reported only minimal side effects, including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, constipation, and stomach discomfort. Viking Therapeutics said VK2735's selling point is the ability to maintain weight loss with less frequent injections, testing whether patients can take doses every two weeks or once a month.
Yahoo Finance also reported that Goldman Sachs stayed neutral, saying the results were encouraging but aligned with the study design that included multiple dosing options, and that it wants a longer follow-up period to assess durability, particularly for the monthly dose. The firm reiterated a $38 price target, about 7% below the latest close, while the number of hedge funds holding the stock rose to 47 in the second quarter from 44 in the first quarter, based on data cited from Insider Monkey.