Viking Therapeutics reports VK2735 weight maintenance data with less frequent dosing

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: VKTX) released top-line results from a maintenance study of its obesity drug candidate VK2735, showing that participants who switched from weekly injections to less frequent dosing regimens maintained most of their weight loss over a 12-week period.

The randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial enrolled approximately 180 adults with obesity. Participants received weekly subcutaneous doses of VK2735 or placebo for 21 weeks, during which weight loss ranged from approximately 16% to 19% across VK2735 dose groups, compared with roughly 0% for placebo. After week 21, participants transitioned to monthly, every-other-week, or continued weekly dosing for an additional 12 weeks.

Participants switched to every-other-week dosing maintained up to 97% of their week-21 weight loss, compared with 61% among those transitioned to placebo. Those moved to monthly dosing maintained up to 90% of weight loss, also statistically superior to placebo. An exploratory cohort that continued weekly dosing at 17.5 mg reached approximately 22% mean weight loss from baseline at week 33, with no plateau observed.

Rates of gastrointestinal adverse events, including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and constipation, were comparable to placebo during the maintenance phase. Discontinuation rates due to adverse events were low across all cohorts.

Viking said it plans to evaluate oral maintenance dosing regimens in an upcoming part 2 of the current study. VK2735 is being developed in both subcutaneous and oral formulations and is currently in Phase 3 clinical studies for obesity.

The information in this article is based on a company press release. Louis Aronne, MD, quoted in the release, is a paid consultant to Viking Therapeutics.

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