Viking Therapeutics moved up its timeline for an Eli Lilly-rivaling obesity treatment on Thursday. VKTX stock rose to a record high.
The biotech company is working on two potential weight-loss drugs — a daily pill and a weekly shot. Previously, Viking said it expects to have the results of a midstage test of its weekly shot sometime in the first half of the year. Now, the company says it will come before the end of the first quarter.
That will align with plans to unveil the results from a study of its oral drug sometime this quarter.
"Overall, we see a robust catalyst path for VKTX that features multiple key data readouts across obesity and NASH (nonalcoholic steatohepatitis) that we expect will drive value inflection in VKTX shares," Leerink Partners analyst Thomas Smith said in a report.
VKTX stock catapulted 18% to 28.89 at the close. That put shares at their highest-ever point. Notably, Viking stock has a nearly perfect IBD Digital Relative Strength Rating of 98, putting the biotech in the top 2% of all stocks when it comes to 12-month performance.
VKTX Stock And Obesity Treatment
Viking is taking a similar approach to Eli Lilly in obesity treatment. It's testing a drug that mimics the action of receptors known as GLP-1 and GIP. This puts it in direct line with Lilly's tirzepatide, a weekly shot that sells under the brand names Mounjaro and Zepbound for diabetes and weight loss.
But Viking is taking its efforts another step beyond that. It's developing the same drug as a daily pill. In comparison, Lilly's daily pill, orforglipron, only acts on the GLP-1 receptor.
Next up, Viking expects to have the results of two studies for its drug, dubbed VK2735. One will test the under-the-skin shot over 13 weeks as an obesity treatment. The other will study the oral pill over 28 days in otherwise healthy adults with obesity.
"Management clarified that these releases would not be simultaneous, though declined to indicate which would be available first," Smith said.
VKTX stock remains well above its key moving averages, MarketSmith.com shows.
Viking Eyes The NASH Treatment Space
Viking is also testing another drug called VK2809 as a treatment for NASH, a liver disease also known as metabolic dysfunction-associated steatohepatitis, or MASH. The company expects to have the results of a yearlong study of patients with the liver disease in the first half of this year.
Leerink's Smith notes other news in the NASH/MASH arena could have an impact on VKTX stock.
Rival Madrigal Pharmaceuticals hopes to gain Food and Drug Administration approval for its drug, known as resmetirom, by March 14. And Boehringer Ingelheim also expects to have the results of its 48-week study in the first half of the year. BI's drug also impacts both the GLP-1 and GIP receptors.
Viking disclosed Thursday that it has already finished the final biopsies in the NASH study. This could suggest "the data processing/cleaning/analysis is underway," Smith said.
He has an outperform rating on VKTX stock.
Follow Allison Gatlin on X, the platform formerly known Twitter, at @IBD_AGatlin.
