Viking Therapeutics' obesity drug shows durable weight-loss benefit, shares surge

The results support the company's bid to make treatment less burdensome. Viking has been working on flexible dosing options with injectable and oral versions of VK2735 in an effort to carve out a place for itself in the fast-growing sector.

Louis Aronne, a former president of the Obesity Society, said less frequent dosing could help patients stay on obesity medicines longer.

The obesity market is currently dominated by treatments from pharma majors Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly, which are locked in a battle for market share through effective and convenient treatments including injections and pills.

Analysts expect the obesity market to reach $100 billion in annual sales by 2030.

Leerink Partners analyst Thomas Smith said the data reinforces VK2735's differentiated profile and competitive positioning, and described the drug's safety and tolerability profile as "impressively clean."

"We believe long-term weight management will not follow a standard one-size-fits-all approach," Viking CEO Brian Lian said, adding that patients will need a range of options to personalize treatment throughout their weight-loss journey.

Viking Therapeutics said patients shifted to a less frequent dosing regimen of its experimental obesity treatment showed superior weight-loss maintenance in a study compared with those on placebo, sending its shares up 30% in morning trading.

The company said on Tuesday that patients who switched to every-other-week dosing of VK2735 maintained up to 97% of the weight they had lost during an initial 21-week treatment period, while those on monthly dosing retained up to 90% of their prior weight loss over the following 12 weeks.

In a small group treated weekly for 33 weeks, patients lost an average of 21.7% of body weight, Viking said, adding that it plans to study oral maintenance dosing later in the trial.