Topline
Shares of Viking Therapeutics plummeted more than 43% Tuesday after the company revealed poorer-than-expected mid-stage trial data for its experimental weight-loss pill, joining Eli Lilly with similar historic losses as pharmaceutical firms compete to develop an oral weight-loss drug.
The company is the latest facing historic losses as pharmaceutical firms compete to develop a weight-loss pill.
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Key Facts
Viking Therapeutics’ shares dropped about 43% to just below $24 as of around 10:30 a.m. EDT, pacing what would be the company’s largest single-day decline since the stock went public in May 2015 and marking a 69.5% drop from its 52-week high ($81.73) set in October 2024.
Tuesday’s stock plunge accounts for about $1.8 billion in losses for Viking Therapeutics, cutting the company’s market capitalization by more than one-third to $2.8 billion.
Viking Therapeutics earlier Tuesday reported mid-stage trial data for its weight-loss pill VK2735, which helped patients lose an average of 12.2% of their body weight after 13 weeks, compared to a 1.3% loss with a placebo.
About 28% of patients discontinued VK2735 through the trial, however, with some patients reporting gastrointestinal side effects, including nausea and vomiting.
How Does Viking Therapeutics’ Weight-Loss Pill Compare With Competitors?
The once-daily pill VK2735 had lower weight-loss results on average compared to Eli Lilly’s orforglipron, which was tested over 72 weeks. The highest dose of Eli Lilly’s once-daily treatment helped patients lose about 12.4% of their body weight in a late-stage trial, well below analyst expectations of 15%, according to FactSet. Those expectations appeared to trail Novo Nordisk’s success: An oral version of its Wegovy treatment helped patients lose 15% of their body weight on average in a late-stage trial.
Surprising Fact
Eli Lilly’s shares dropped more than 14% after reporting trial data for orforglipron on Aug. 7. That was the company’s largest single-day loss since a 29% decrease on Aug. 8, 2000. Novo Nordisk shares increased more than 7% as a result.
Key Background
Viking Therapeutics emerged as a possible competitor in the growing weight-loss medication market in recent years as it develops an oral alternative. The company is also developing an injection, though both Viking Therapeutics and health experts have argued an oral weight-loss medication could greatly expand the market to more consumers. Novo Nordisk, whose Wegovy and Ozempic treatments have become increasingly popular, has its oral Wegovy treatment under regulatory review. A decision by the Food and Drug Administration is expected by late 2025. Other weight-loss pill trials have been abandoned: Pfizer’s twice-daily danuglipron was dropped after testing suggested the drug could adversely affect the liver.
