Viking Therapeutics Shares Jump 36% as VK2735 Maintains Up to 97% of Weight Loss on Less Frequent Dosing

Viking Therapeutics said Tuesday that patients taking its dual-acting obesity drug VK2735 retained up to 97% of their weight loss after switching from weekly to biweekly or monthly maintenance shots, sending shares up as much as 36% in morning trading. The Phase 2 trial enrolled 180 people with obesity and no related health conditions, randomized across four dosing regimens or placebo over 21 weeks. Weight loss ranged from 16% at 15 mg to 19% at 20 mg. After transitioning to less frequent dosing for 12 additional weeks, average weight-loss maintenance was 90% in the every-other-week group and 85% in the monthly cohort. Leerink analyst Thomas Smith called the data "stellar," noting VK2735's potentially differentiated profile could address adherence issues plaguing GLP-1 obesity treatments such as Novo's Wegovy and Eli Lilly's Zepbound. Viking reported low discontinuation rates. Phase 3 trials were fully enrolled as of November 2025, testing doses up to 17.5 mg weekly.