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Update 2.37 PM EST: Adds details on Raymond James upgrade
Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) was a notable decliner among anti-obesity drug developers on Thursday after Swiss pharma giant Roche (OTCQX:RHHBY) said its dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist, CT-388, caused roughly 19% average weight loss in a Phase 1 trial.
Shares of San Diego, California-based Viking (VKTX) surged in February after its dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist VK2735 led to a mean body weight reduction of up to ~15% over 13 weeks in a Phase 2 trial called VENTURE.
While both CT-388 and VK2735 are once-weekly subcutaneous injectables, the former achieved its results over 24 weeks in healthy adults with obesity. However, the VENTURE trial involved overweight or obese adults with at least one weight-related disease.
Citing difficulty in comparing data from the two trials, Raymond James upgraded Viking (VKTX) to Strong Buy from Outperform and raised its price target to $116 from $115 per share.
Analyst Steven Seedhouse models ~20% unadjusted and ~18% placebo-adjusted weight loss for VK2735 were the patients to receive the drug at 15 mg through Week 24.
Viking (VKTX) was also a frequent subject of takeover speculation, most notably linked to Eli Lilly (LLY), whose dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist Zepbound is a much sought-after weight loss therapy alongside Novo Nordisk’s (NVO) Wegovy.
However, according to a recent Betaville “uncooked” alert, LLY has paused its efforts to acquire Viking (VKTX) over disagreements over price.
