Viking Therapeutics plans to move its injectable obesity treatment into a Phase 3 study faster than expected, bringing the biotech closer to joining the highly competitive GLP-1 drug market.
The San Diego-based biotech previously said it was anticipating to start a Phase 2b trial of the therapy, VK2735, after getting positive results from a Phase 2 study. But after receiving feedback from regulators, the company now plans to advance directly into a Phase 3 trial, the company said Wednesday when reporting earnings.
VK2735 so far has been tested as a weekly injection, but based on pharmacokinetics data, Viking now also intends to explore monthly dosing in a future study, CEO Brian Lian said on an earnings call. If the treatment can still achieve high efficacy with a monthly regimen, that would make it more attractive than the existing weekly GLP-1 drugs on the market like Novo Nordisk’s Wegovy and Eli Lilly’s Zepbound.
