The obesity market continues to expand, but therapeutic options remain limited and shortages in supply continue. This creates a significant opportunity for new entrants. Numerous companies are exploring potential breakthrough mechanisms of action beyond GLP-1R agonists, while others are focusing on the synergistic effects of targeting multiple receptors to enhance the benefits of GLP-1R agonists. Viking Therapeutics is developing VK2735, a dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist, which may enter the market within the next few years and could become a direct competitor to Eli Lilly’s Mounjaro/Zepbound (tirzepatide), according to GlobalData, a data and analytics company.
In February, Viking Therapeutics published Phase IIa results for its VK2735 candidate, which is being investigated both as a weekly subcutaneous injection and as an oral tablet to treat obesity. The results showed that after 13 weeks of once-weekly subcutaneous injections of VK2735, patients experienced average weight losses of 9.2kg, 10.7kg, 13.3kg, 14.6kg, and 1.8kg in the 2.5mg, 5mg, 10mg, 15mg, and placebo groups, respectively. This translates to a placebo-adjusted weight loss from baseline of 7.4%, 9.2%, 11.3%, and 13.10% in the treatment groups.
Costanza Alciati, Pharma Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “The study met all primary and secondary endpoints, demonstrating statistically significant weight loss effects and a favorable safety profile. Consequently, following a written response to the company’s Type C meeting with the FDA, if everything proceeds according to Viking Therapeutics’ plans, the company could save hundreds of thousands of dollars by advancing directly to Phase III trials, potentially reaching the market sooner than anticipated.”
Alciati continues: “Competition in the obesity field is expected to intensify toward the end of this decade, as many companies have treatments in development expected to launch in the late 2020s. The promising results could give VK2735 a competitive edge over other candidates in the pipeline. Assuming VK2735 enters Phase III clinical trials next year, it could become one of the next therapies to enter the market, directly competing with Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide due to its similar mechanism of action.”
However, pipeline candidates entering the market will also have to compete against Wegovy, which has been pursuing label extensions in various regions. In fact, Wegovy has just been approved in the UK and the EU as the first drug to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events in adults with obesity.
Alciati concludes: “It will be interesting to see whether new therapies entering the obesity market will follow Novo Nordisk’s approach of pursuing label extensions or opt for alternative strategies to enhance their competitiveness.”
