Viking Therapeutics disclosed promising results from a new phase of its obesity‑treatment study, showing that patients who moved to a less‑frequent dosing schedule maintained the majority of their weight loss.

Study design and key findings

The company’s trial began with a 21‑week initial treatment period during which participants lost weight on VK2735. After this phase, a subset of patients switched to an every‑other‑week dosing regimen, while another group shifted to a monthly schedule. Over the subsequent 12 weeks, those on the every‑other‑week plan retained up to 97% of the weight they had previously lost. Participants on the monthly regimen kept up to 90% of their prior weight loss.

These retention rates suggest that less‑frequent dosing can sustain the benefits achieved during the intensive initial phase, offering a potentially more convenient option for long‑term obesity management.

Market reaction

Following the announcement, Viking Therapeutics’ stock surged roughly 40% before the market opened, reflecting investor optimism about the drug’s commercial prospects.

Next steps

Viking indicated that future trial phases will explore oral maintenance dosing, aiming to further simplify the regimen and broaden patient accessibility.

The company’s spokesperson emphasized that the data reinforce the therapeutic promise of VK2735 and underscore the importance of continued innovation in the fight against obesity, a condition that affects millions of Americans.

Reporting by Padmanabhan Ananthan in Bengaluru; editing by Shinjini Ganguli.

Original reporting: Appleton, WI News Feed (HLL/CB) — read the source article.