Viking’s GLP-1/GIP agonist advances through Phase 3 development

The Tip Desk · September 23, 2026 · 2 min read

VK2735’s pivotal injection trials are fully enrolled, while early maintenance findings explore less frequent dosing and an oral Phase 3 start remains planned.

VK2735 is Viking Therapeutics' investigational dual GLP-1/GIP agonist. Viking is developing injectable and oral formulations with different dosing schedules. Viking's July 29 update described full enrollment of the weekly injectable Phase 3 VANQUISH program and an oral Phase 3 start planned for the fourth quarter; that planned timing is not evidence that the trial has already begun.

VANQUISH-1 studies adults without type 2 diabetes; VANQUISH-2 addresses the diabetes population. Both compare weekly treatment with placebo and assess weight change at 78 weeks. Their current registry states are active but not recruiting. Keeping those populations separate is essential when later results arrive.

On September 22, Viking reported a maintenance experiment after 21 weeks of weekly VK2735. Over the next 12 weeks, the combined every-two-week groups retained 90% of their prior mean weight loss, and the combined monthly groups retained 85%, versus 61% in the placebo group. Those groups contained 37, 65 and 27 participants respectively. These percentages describe retained prior loss, not new percentage reductions in body weight.

The release's 97% figure belongs to one every-two-week cohort, not the pooled monthly result. One monthly cohort excluded an outlier. The small groups, short maintenance period and sponsor-reported analysis limit conclusions about durable maintenance, adherence and safety; an oral maintenance component was still planned.

The useful change in the story is the question being tested: whether a response achieved on weekly treatment can be maintained with a different interval. It does not replace the separate placebo-controlled 78-week VANQUISH studies or establish an approved regimen. The Phase 3 records describe a different treatment period and population design.

No verified trial identifier for the maintenance experiment was established in the sources reviewed.

Viking's resource position deserves more attention than the balance sheet of a diversified drugmaker. Viking described VK2735 as wholly owned in July. No compound-specific development partner is established in sources reviewed through September 22, 2026, and a shelf registration is financing capacity rather than completed funding.

At June 30, Viking reported $125.8 million of cash and equivalents and $375.9 million of short-term investments, totaling $501.7 million. Restricted cash of $0.2 million is separate. First-half operating cash use was $239.1 million, compared with $99.4 million a year earlier; the net loss was $286.3 million. The balance sheet lists lease obligations but no separate borrowing balance. Development spending and the cost of preparing larger trials make the cash-flow trend relevant. A July shelf registration represents financing capacity, not proceeds already received.