{"id":10223,"date":"2026-05-06T16:31:14","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T16:31:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stoxpo.com\/?p=10223"},"modified":"2026-05-06T16:31:14","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T16:31:14","slug":"viking-therapeutics-accelerates-obesity-drug-pipeline-with-phase-3-momentum","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stoxpo.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/06\/viking-therapeutics-accelerates-obesity-drug-pipeline-with-phase-3-momentum\/","title":{"rendered":"Viking Therapeutics Accelerates Obesity Drug Pipeline with Phase 3 Momentum"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em>VK2735 advances across injectable and oral formats as company strengthens position in weight-loss therapeutics<\/em><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) reported strong first-quarter progress in 2026, highlighted by significant advancements in its obesity treatment pipeline and a solid financial position. The company ended the quarter with $603 million in cash, supporting its ambitious clinical development plans as it pushes forward in one of the most competitive areas in healthcare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the center of Viking\u2019s strategy is VK2735, a dual agonist targeting GLP-1 and GIP receptors, designed to treat obesity and related metabolic disorders. The company announced that its Phase 3 VANQUISH program for the subcutaneous version of VK2735 is now fully enrolled. VANQUISH-1, which includes more than 4,500 participants, and VANQUISH-2, with approximately 1,000 participants, are both progressing on schedule. These randomized, placebo-controlled trials will evaluate weight loss outcomes over 78 weeks, with the primary goal of measuring percentage reductions in body weight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The enthusiasm surrounding VK2735 stems from earlier Phase 2 results, which demonstrated weight reductions of up to 14.7% after 13 weeks, along with favorable safety and tolerability. These results position VK2735 as a strong contender in the rapidly expanding obesity drug market.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to the injectable format, Viking is advancing an oral version of VK2735, with a Phase 3 trial expected to begin in the fourth quarter of 2026. If successful, this would mark the first oral dual GLP-1\/GIP agonist, offering patients a more convenient alternative to injections. Previous studies of the oral formulation showed weight loss of up to 12.2% over 13 weeks, with strong safety outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Beyond VK2735, Viking continues to expand its pipeline, including the development of VK3019, a novel amylin agonist. The company has filed an investigational new drug application and expects to begin Phase 1 trials in the second quarter of 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With strong clinical momentum, a diversified pipeline, and solid financial backing, Viking Therapeutics is positioning itself as a key player in the future of obesity treatment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You might like this article:<a href=\"https:\/\/stoxpo.com\/index.php\/2026\/05\/06\/disney-delivers-strong-q2-beat-under-new-ceo-josh-damaro\/\"><mark style=\"background-color:rgba(0, 0, 0, 0)\" class=\"has-inline-color has-vivid-cyan-blue-color\">Disney Delivers Strong Q2 Beat Under New CEO Josh D\u2019Amaro<\/mark><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>VK2735 advances across injectable and oral formats as company strengthens position in weight-loss therapeutics Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) reported strong first-quarter progress in 2026, highlighted by significant advancements in its obesity treatment pipeline and a solid financial position. The company ended the quarter with $603 million in cash, supporting its ambitious clinical development plans as it [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5518,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"jnews_social_meta":[],"jnews_override_counter":[],"jnews_post_split":[]},"categories":[308,360],"tags":[421,416,418,417,793],"coauthors":[454],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stoxpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10223"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stoxpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stoxpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stoxpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stoxpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10223"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stoxpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10223\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10224,"href":"https:\/\/stoxpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10223\/revisions\/10224"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stoxpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5518"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stoxpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10223"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stoxpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10223"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stoxpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10223"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stoxpo.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=10223"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}