Here's Why Viking Therapeutics Stock Surged Higher in June
Investors are growing more optimistic over the company's pipeline and the initiation of a Phase 1 trial with a new drug.
Overview
Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VKTX) stock rose by 19.2% in June, according to data from S&P Global Market Intelligence. The move comes as optimism rises over the company's pipeline development program, notably in weight-loss drugs, and the initiation of a Phase 1 study in a new class of weight-loss drugs that offers a different mechanism from the current GLP-1/GIP class.
Speaking of GLP-1/GIP class drugs, Viking's lead drug candidate, VK2735, is a GLP-1/GIP agonist. It's part of a crowded field that includes blockbuster weight loss drugs from Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY) and Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO).
Details
That said, VK2735 does have some distinguishing characteristics that mark it out from rivals. As previously discussed, VK2735 has demonstrated a steeper rate of weight loss in the treated groups in Phase 2 clinical trials for both oral and injectable formulations. The hope is that Viking will demonstrate similar efficacy with no safety or tolerability issues in the ongoing Phase 3 trial for injectable VK2735, as well as in the Phase 3 trial for oral VK2735, which is due to start later this year. Investors will probably have to wait until 2027 and 2028, respectively, for the results of those trials.
Source
Originally published at www.fool.com.