VKTX - Viking Therapeutics: A Contender In The Growing Obesity Treatment Landscape

2024-06-17 09:13:40 ET

Summary

• Viking Therapeutics shows promise with their VK2735 drug demonstrating significant weight loss in Phase 2 trials.
• Despite strong data, Viking faces intense competition and strategic challenges in a market dominated by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.
• Viking’s financials are solid, with a substantial cash runway, but escalating costs could pose future risks as they advance to later-stage trials.
• I recommend Viking Therapeutics as a high-risk/high-reward investment suitable for a barbell investment strategy.

Viking Therapeutics: Weighing the Future of Weight Loss

I last covered Viking Therapeutics ( VKTX ) in March within an overview of the obesity treatment landscape . I was encouraged by Viking's subcutaneous GLP-1/GIP dual agonist, VK2735 . Phase 2 data demonstrated robust weight loss, with 35 patients losing 13.1% (placebo-adjusted) of their baseline weight after just 13 weeks. In March, Viking revealed data for their oral , once-daily GLP-1/GIP dual agonist. Placebo-adjusted weight loss was 3.3% after 34 days. So, Viking is positioning themselves to take advantage of, what could be, a $130 billion market by 2030. Of course, Novo Nordisk ( NVO ) and Eli Lilly ( LLY ) are the leaders in this market with their subcutaneous GLP-1 (Wegovy) and GLP-1/GIP (Zepbound) agonist offerings, respectively. Neither company's production can meet the demand. Both Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly are investing billions of dollars to boost production....

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