<\/p>\n
One of the persistent frustrations with GLP-1 weight loss drugs is the commitment they require. Weekly injections, strict maintenance dosing, and the knowledge that if you stop, the weight often comes back.<\/p>\n
So, that adherence problem is why 53.6% of patients stopped their GLP-1 therapy within the first year and 72.2% within 2 years, according to an NIH report. <\/p>\n
But we have good news. Viking Therapeutics just published trial data suggesting there might be a better way.<\/p>\n
On Sept. 22, the San Diego-based biotech reported that participants who switched from weekly to monthly injections of its experimental obesity drug VK2735 maintained an average of 85% of their prior weight loss. Those who switched to every-other-week dosing maintained 90%.<\/p>\n
People who stayed on weekly dosing continued to lose weight, reaching 21.7% from baseline at week 33 with no plateau in sight, according to the same trial data report.<\/p>\n
Following the report, Shares of Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) surged 36%. In fact, that’s their largest single-day gain since February 2024, when a 120% gain followed positive weight loss drug trial results, CNBC reported.<\/p>\n
Also Read: Viking Therapeutics Inc. Latest News and Stories<\/p>\n
What the trial actually showed and why the plateau finding matters<\/p>\n
I find that the real eye-opener, though, is VK2735’s weight-loss data. Why? During the 21-week induction period, participants lost between 16% and 19% of their body weight, compared with no weight loss in the placebo group, according to the trial data report.<\/p>\n
Then, in an exploratory arm where weekly dosing continued through week 33, mean weight loss reached 21.7% with no sign of plateau.<\/p>\n
That last detail is important. Most GLP-1 drugs show a plateauing effect at some point — the body adapts, and weight loss slows. VK2735 showed no sign of that ceiling at 33 weeks. <\/p>\n
Whether that holds at 52 weeks or beyond is the next question. But for now, the trajectory is exceptional.<\/p>\n
More Healthcare Stocks:<\/p>\n
BofA sees Eli Lilly’s overseas obesity sales topping the U.S.<\/p>\n
Eli Lilly’s Foundayo pill wins first European approval<\/p>\n
Novo Nordisk CEO resets expectations for Wegovy’s growth<\/p>\n
The flexible dosing maintenance data adds a second dimension. When patients switched to monthly injections, they preserved 85% of their peak weight loss. Every-other-week dosing preserved 90%. The comparison group switched to placebo and preserved only 61%.<\/p>\n
We believe flexible dosing approaches will provide patients and their providers with new options for improving long-term adherence.<\/p>\n
That is the simple answer to the adherence problem. Monthly dosing for patients who have achieved their target weight reduction is a meaningfully different proposition than lifetime weekly injections.<\/p>\n
The competitive landscape just got more complicated for Lilly and Novo<\/p>\n
VK2735 is a dual agonist targeting both GLP-1 and GIP receptors. That’s the same dual mechanism as Lilly’s tirzepatide, which powers Mounjaro and Zepbound. That is a direct competitive comparison.<\/p>\n
In my last report, I covered Eli Lilly CEO Dave Ricks breaking ground on a $6.5 billion manufacturing facility in Houston and revealing that Foundayo has captured one-third of new oral GLP-1 patient starts.<\/p>\n
Lilly is moving fast to cement its lead. The Viking data published Tuesday is exactly the kind of catalyst that reminds investors the duopoly is not permanent.<\/p>\n
Related: Eli Lilly CEO reveals astonishing shift in GLP-1 pill market<\/p>\n
Roche reinforced that point simultaneously. The Swiss healthcare giant published mid-stage trial data on Sep. 22 for enicepatide, its own dual agonist acquired through a $2.7 billion purchase of Carmot Therapeutics in 2023. <\/p>\n
In patients with type 2 diabetes who were overweight or obese — a particularly difficult-to-treat population — enicepatide delivered up to 15.5% weight loss over 48 weeks with no plateau. <\/p>\n
Roche’s U.S.-listed ADRs finished essentially flat. This tells you investors already expected this drug to work.<\/p>\n
Shares of Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) surged 36% following positive results from a weight-loss drug trial.<\/p>\n
Shutterstock<\/p>\n
The Novo backdrop that makes timing notable<\/p>\n
All of this landed a day after Novo’s capital markets day, which sent its shares lower as investors grew skeptical of the company’s growth plan built around five new “multi-blockbusters” by 2030 and a potential appetite for large acquisitions.<\/p>\n
Novo also published CagriSema data on Sep. 21 showing 12.4% weight loss among patients with diabetes, compared with 9.1% for Lilly’s tirzepatide at the 5 mg dose.<\/p>\n
But CagriSema had already disappointed earlier this year when it failed to outperform tirzepatide in patients with obesity, triggering a significant ADR decline at the time.<\/p>\n
The pattern emerging across these catalysts is that the obesity drug market is evolving from a two-company race into a more crowded, competitive one. Viking’s flexible dosing data, Roche’s enicepatide results, Novo’s strategic uncertainty, and Lilly’s manufacturing buildout are all happening simultaneously.<\/p>\n
If you are a patient or know someone who is, more competition means more options. Lilly and Novo now have credible challengers lining up. <\/p>\n
Viking at $41 after a 36% surge is still a mid-cap biotech without an approved product. But Sep. 22’s data confirms it has a mechanism, efficacy data, and a clinical story that could earn a real seat at the table.<\/p>\n
Related: Lilly looks beyond obesity with $2.88B autoimmune buyout<\/p>\n
#Obesity #titan #shake #Lilly #Novo #astonishing #trial<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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