Viking reports 12.2% weight loss with oral VK2735 at 13 weeks
Viking's oral dual GLP-1/GIP pill is still experimental, but 13-week results add to evidence that a once-daily tablet could eventually join the injected options on the market.
Viking Therapeutics reported that its experimental once-daily tablet VK2735 produced mean weight loss of up to 12.2% over 13 weeks in adults with obesity, in additional Phase 2 data the company presented May 12, 2026, at the European Congress on Obesity in Istanbul, Türkiye [1].
VK2735 is a dual agonist, meaning it targets both the GLP-1 and GIP receptors — the same two receptors hit by tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro and Zepbound [1]. Viking is developing the drug in both a tablet and an injected form, and neither is approved [1].
What the 13-week trial found
The Phase 2 VENTURE-Oral trial enrolled 280 adults with a BMI of at least 30, or at least 27 with at least one weight-related condition, and randomly assigned them to placebo or one of five doses for 13 weeks [1].
Mean percent change in body weight at week 13, by dose: 15 mg, -2.3%; 30 mg, -7.0%; 60 mg, -8.7%; 90 mg, -11.1%; and 120 mg, -12.2%. Placebo was -1.3% [1]. At the 120 mg dose, the average participant lost 12.1 kg, or about 26.6 pounds [1].
Results were dose-dependent. Placebo-adjusted weight loss ranged from 1.0% at 15 mg to 10.9% at 120 mg, and every active dose above 15 mg was statistically significant compared with placebo [1].
Weight loss began as early as week 1 at doses above 15 mg, and the company said the weight-loss curves were still trending downward at week 13, with no plateau [1]. Up to 97% of treated participants lost at least 5% of their body weight, and up to 80% lost at least 10%, compared with 10% and 5% for placebo [1].
The trial population had an average BMI of 37 and an average age of 51, and 54% had pre-diabetes [1].
On tolerability, Viking reported that 98% of drug-related treatment-emergent side effects were mild or moderate, that gastrointestinal events were the most common, and that these events typically appeared early in treatment and eased with continued dosing [1]. Participants were titrated up in 30 mg steps. The company said lower starting doses and longer titration windows may further improve tolerability [1].
"The Phase 2a VENTURE-Oral Dosing study results provide important data to inform the design of our upcoming oral Phase 3 registration studies," said Brian Lian, Ph.D., Viking's chief executive officer [1]. Lian added that the company believes VK2735 "has the potential to become the first oral dual agonist of the GLP-1 and GIP receptors to reach the market" [1].
Parke Joseph Hedges, M.D., a lead investigator in the study, said the early onset and continued progression of weight loss without a plateau over 13 weeks was "particularly compelling," and that a once-daily oral option delivering this level of efficacy "could represent an important and more accessible treatment option for patients for initial treatment as well as maintenance" [1].
Why it matters for patients
The currently approved products named in the announcement are semaglutide, sold as Ozempic, Wegovy and Rybelsus, and tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro and Zepbound [1]. No oral dual GLP-1/GIP agonist is approved in the U.S. [1]. If an oral dual agonist eventually reaches the market, it would give patients a pill rather than an injection for this class of drug.
Viking also points to a second possible use: because the tablet and the injection contain the same active drug, patients could potentially move from injections to oral dosing without switching medicines [1]. That idea has not been tested in a trial reported here.
The 13-week results do not show whether weight loss continues beyond 13 weeks, whether any weight loss is maintained after stopping, or how VK2735 compares directly with approved drugs. No head-to-head comparison has been reported. Pricing has not been disclosed.
What happens next
Viking said it looks forward to initiating Phase 3 trials of the oral tablet later this year [1]. No start date or completion date for those trials has been reported, and no timeline for an FDA submission or decision has been disclosed.
A separate Phase 3 program for injected VK2735, called VANQUISH and including the VANQUISH-1 and VANQUISH-2 trials, is already running [1]. Viking presented baseline characteristics from VANQUISH-1 at the same conference [1]. The VENTURE-Oral poster is on display May 12–15, with a networking session on May 14 [1].
Sources
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