Clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company Viking Therapeutics Inc (Viking) (NASDAQ: VKTX), which is focused on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders, revealed on Wednesday that it has received positive results from its Phase 1 single ascending dose (SAD) and multiple ascending dose (MAD) clinical trial of VK2735.

The company said that this compound is a novel dual agonist of the glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptors in development for the potential treatment of various metabolic disorders.

It added that based on these Phase 1 results, it plans to initiate a Phase 2 study of VK2735 in patients with obesity in mid-2023.

Brian Lian, PhD, chief executive officer of Viking, stated: "These Phase 1 data highlight VK2735's attractive early profile, with encouraging safety, tolerability, and positive effects on body weight. The initial data suggest excellent clinical characteristics, with good tolerability and up to approximately 18 pounds of mean weight loss from baseline. Though subjects in this study were only exposed to higher doses for a limited time, no signs of plateau were observed. We look forward to exploring higher doses over a longer treatment window in the Phase 2 trial."