Promising Phase I Results for Viking's Obesity Pill VK2735

Viking Therapeutics has announced positive results from a Phase I clinical trial of VK2735, an oral medication for obesity. The trial demonstrated significant weight reduction in overweight adults, with the most effective dose resulting in a 3.3% decrease in average body weight compared to a placebo. This effect was statistically significant, with 57% of participants in the highest dose group losing at least 5% of their body weight, while no one in the placebo group achieved this.
Patients who received at least 10 mg of VK2735 maintained weight loss, which continued to improve up to 34 days after the final dose. The medication was well-tolerated, with no serious side effects reported, and most gastrointestinal issues were mild or moderate. The primary objective of the trial was to assess the safety and tolerability of VK2735, and the findings suggest a favorable profile with minimal gastrointestinal-related side effects.
The drug operates through two mechanisms: it activates the GLP-1 receptor to suppress appetite and the GIP receptor to enhance its therapeutic effects. Viking is also developing an intravenous version of VK2735, which showed promising results in a Phase II study, with patients on a 15 mg dose experiencing a 14.7% weight loss.
In the field of obesity medications, AstraZeneca has entered into a licensing agreement with Eccogene to develop an oral GLP-1 receptor agonist, while Eli Lilly is working on an oral obesity treatment called orforglipron, which has shown to reduce body weight by 8.6% to 12.6% over 26 weeks in a Phase II study.

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