Eli Lilly’s obesity drug data lifts Viking Therapeutics stock

Published 07/08/2025, 14:00
© Reuters.

Investing.com -- Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ:VKTX) stock rose 11% Thursday after Eli Lilly’s (NYSE:LLY) data on its oral obesity drug orforglipron fell short of investor expectations.

Eli Lilly reported that its experimental pill helped patients lose approximately 11% of their body weight, or about 25 pounds, in a late-stage study. This result landed on the lower end of Wall Street’s expectations, as investors had hoped orforglipron would match the effectiveness of Novo Nordisk’s (NYSE:NVO) Wegovy, which showed 14-15% weight loss in pivotal trials.

The underwhelming data from Eli Lilly triggered a significant market reaction, with Lilly shares falling more than 12% in premarket trading, while Novo Nordisk stock rose as much as 8.4% in Copenhagen.

Viking Therapeutics is developing its own dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist, VK2735, in both oral tablet and subcutaneous formulations for potential treatment of obesity and other metabolic disorders.

The market appears to view Eli Lilly’s setback as potentially beneficial for Viking’s competitive position in the rapidly growing obesity treatment market, where effective oral medications with favorable side effect profiles remain highly sought after.

This article was generated with the support of AI and reviewed by an editor. For more information see our T&C.

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