What's Going On With Viking Therapeutics, Structure Therapeutics Stock On Monday?

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. VKTX, Eli Lilly And Co LLY and Novo Nordisk A/S NVO stocks are trading higher on Monday.

Pfizer Inc. PFE announced on Monday that it will discontinue the development of danuglipron (PF-06882961), an oral glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) receptor agonist being investigated for chronic weight management.

A single asymptomatic participant in one of the dose-optimization studies experienced potential drug-induced liver injury, which resolved after discontinuation of danuglipron.

Also Read: Viking Therapeutics, Structure Therapeutics Positioned As Key Pharma Partners For Weight Loss Products: Analyst

Pfizer is one of several drugmakers working to develop an alternative to injectable weight loss drugs. Still, it’s far behind rivals like Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, who already lead the market with weekly injections.

Eli Lilly is developing orforglipron, which could be the first small-molecule weight-loss pill when it launches in 2026. This would give Eli Lilly a two-year lead before rivals catch up.

In March, Viking Therapeutics completed subject enrollment in its Phase 2 clinical trial of the oral tablet formulation of VK2735, the company’s dual agonist of the GLP-1 and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptors.

VK2375 is being developed in oral and subcutaneous formulations for various metabolic disorders, such as obesity. Viking expects to report data from the study in the second half of 2025.

Viking plans to initiate Phase 3 development with the subcutaneous formulation of VK2735 in the first half of 2025.

In June 2024, Structure Therapeutics Inc. GPCR unveiled 12-week topline obesity data from its Phase 2a study of GSBR-1290.

In the Phase 2a obesity study, GSBR-1290 demonstrated a clinically meaningful and statistically significant placebo-adjusted mean decrease in weight of 6.2% at 12 weeks.

In July 2024, Roche Holdings AG RHHBY announced topline results from two arms of an ongoing multi-part Phase 1 clinical trial for CT-996 for type 2 diabetes and obesity.

The data showed that treatment with CT-996 in participants with obesity and without type 2 diabetes resulted in a clinically meaningful placebo-adjusted mean weight loss of -6.1% within four weeks.

This data is better compared to existing competitors.

In June 2023, Pfizer discontinued the clinical development of another GLP-1-RA candidate, lotiglipron (PF-07081532), due to pharmacokinetic data from Phase 1 studies and laboratory measurements of elevated transaminases (liver enzymes).

In March, Altimmune Inc ALT unveiled the first disclosure of Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and Alcohol Liver Disease (ALD) as potential developments for its obesity drug, pemvidutide.

Phase 2 trials for pemvidutide in AUD and ALD are expected to start in the second and third quarters of 2025, respectively.

Price Action: LLY stock is up 1.14% at $739.26, NVO stock is up 1.68% at $65.82, ALT stock is up 3.40% at $4.56, VKTX stock is up 13.5% at $25.21

GPCR stock is up 8.36% at $17.23 at the last check on Monday.

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