Viking completes enrollment in its phase 3 oral and injectable program

Viking Therapeutics has completed enrollment in VANQUISH-2, the second of two phase 3 trials testing its injectable obesity drug, VK2735, in patients who also have type 2 diabetes ^[1]. The companion trial, VANQUISH-1, which enrolls adults with obesity or overweight without diabetes, had already finished enrolling patients ^[1]. Both studies are now fully enrolled, a step that moves Viking closer to filing for approval but does not mean approval is imminent ^[1].

VK2735 is a dual agonist that activates both the GLP-1 and GIP hormone receptors, the same two targets used by Eli Lilly's tirzepatide, sold as Mounjaro and Zepbound ^[1]. Viking is also developing an oral tablet version of the same molecule. In an earlier phase 2 study, the pill produced weight loss of up to 12.2% over just 13 weeks ^[1]. That oral program is expected to move into phase 3 testing in the second half of 2026 ^[1].

If both the injectable and the oral versions eventually succeed, Viking says it would become the first company to offer patients an oral and an injectable form of the same dual-acting drug, potentially allowing people to switch between formats ^[1]. Viking's chief executive, Brian Lian, has called the oral data compelling and said the tablet could become the first oral dual agonist of its kind to reach the market ^[1].

Why it matters for patients

Completing enrollment is an administrative and logistical milestone, not a result. It means Viking has recruited enough patients into VANQUISH-1 and VANQUISH-2 to run the trials as planned, but no phase 3 efficacy or safety data for VK2735 have been reported yet ^[1]. Patients weighing today's choices among semaglutide products (Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus), tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound), and orforglipron (Foundayo) should not expect VK2735 to be an option in the near term.

The broader significance is competitive. Viking is one of several companies racing to bring new obesity drugs to market with different combinations of hormone targets and different delivery formats, alongside Eli Lilly's retatrutide, Amgen's MariTide, Novo Nordisk's amycretin and CagriSema, and Boehringer Ingelheim and Zealand Pharma's survodutide ^[1]. A deep pipeline generally means more choices down the road, potentially including drugs tuned for different priorities such as maximum weight loss, once-monthly dosing, or gentler side effects, and analysts expect that added competition could eventually put pressure on prices, though that outcome is not guaranteed and is not addressed by trial-enrollment news itself ^[1].

For now, the only approved GLP-1 obesity treatments in the United States remain injectable and oral semaglutide and Lilly's orforglipron pill; Novo Nordisk's CagriSema is under FDA review with a decision expected later in 2026 ^[1]. VK2735, in both its injectable and oral forms, remains investigational.

What happens next

Viking's oral VK2735 tablet is expected to enter its own phase 3 program in the second half of 2026 ^[1]. Data from the completed VANQUISH-1 and VANQUISH-2 injectable trials are not yet reported in the sources reviewed here, and the timing of those results, along with any eventual filing for FDA approval, is not yet known. Given that Viking is still enrolling and running phase 3 studies, any approval of VK2735 would be years away, consistent with the broader pattern among late-stage obesity drug candidates such as retatrutide, MariTide, amycretin and survodutide, most of which are not expected to reach patients before the end of the decade ^[1].