Viking (VKTX) Stock Down on Novo Nordisk's Obesity Pill Data
Viking Therapeutics’ VKTX stock was down almost 19% on Thursday after Novo Nordisk NVO presented data from a phase I study on its new oral obesity pill called amycretin at its Capital Markets Day. The data showed that amycretin, a GLP-1 and amylin co-agonist, led to a weight loss of 13.1% in users after 12 weeks of treatment.
The drug showed faster weight loss than Novo Nordisk’s popular obesity injection, Wegovy, a GLP-1 agonist, which showed a weight loss of about 5-6% in a mid-stage study. Wegovy is already generating huge sales for Novo Nordisk due to its strong demand.
Viking Therapeutics’ dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist VK2735 showed the same percentage of placebo-adjusted mean weight loss after 13 weeks of treatment in phase II study, per data announced last week.
VK2735 is subcutaneously injected once weekly, whereas amycretin is an oral pill, which provides greater convenience. With both products showing similar efficacy results, Novo Nordisk's drug could outperform VK2735. However, amycretin’s data is only from an early-stage study and the oral pill will have to show similar performance in phase II and III studies to get an approval.
Viking Therapeutics also has an oral formulation of VK2735 in phase I development, data from which is expected to be reported later this quarter.
In the past year, Viking Therapeutics’ stock has risen a massive 572.8% against the industry‘s 1.6% decline.
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The GLP-1 segment is an important class of drugs for multiple cardiometabolic diseases and is gaining significant popularity. GLP-1 drugs work by mimicking the hormone GLP-1, resulting in weight loss, lowering hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) and reducing cardiovascular risks. GLP-1 drugs are approved for treating type II diabetes and obesity.
Some GLP-1 drugs that the FDA has approved are Eli Lilly’s LLY tirzepatide medicines, which include diabetes drug Mounjaro and the newly launched weight loss medicine, Zepbound, and Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide medicines, Ozempic and Rybelsus, for type II diabetes and Wegovy for obesity.
The GLP-1 segment is particularly attracting a lot of interest for the obesity indication. Obesity has become a global health problem as it can cause other diseases like heart disease, diabetes and stroke. This has resulted in an exponential increase in demand for obesity medicines.
Amgen AMGN also has an interesting GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) candidate in its pipeline called maridebart cafraglutide, which is being developed in phase II for obesity. Maridebart cafraglutide is an antibody-peptide conjugate that has a dual mechanism of action. It activates GLP-1R and inhibits the GIP receptor.
Amgen has another small-molecule obesity candidate in the pipeline called AMG-786, which is in phase I development. AMG 786 is not an incretin-based therapy and has a different target than maridebart cafraglutide.
Zacks Rank
Currently, Viking Therapeutics has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Viking Therapeutics, Inc. Price and Consensus
Viking Therapeutics, Inc. price-consensus-chart | Viking Therapeutics, Inc. Quote
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