VK2735
Viking Therapeutics' dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist in late-stage development for obesity, now in Phase 3 in both formulations — weekly subcutaneous (VANQUISH-1 and VANQUISH-2) and once-daily oral (SUNRISE-1 and SUNRISE-2, initiated October 2026) — positioned as a direct competitor to tirzepatide. Part 1 of a maintenance study reported in September 2026 found that every-other-week dosing held 90% of the weight lost on weekly induction and monthly dosing held 85%, versus 61% on placebo — in a trial registered as a Phase 1 whose primary endpoint is safety, not weight maintenance.
VK2735 is an experimental weight-loss drug from Viking Therapeutics that works on the same two gut hormones as tirzepatide (Mounjaro/Zepbound). It comes as a weekly shot and a daily pill, and both are now in final-stage Phase 3 trials. In a 13-week mid-stage trial the shot produced about 15% weight loss. It is not approved and cannot be bought anywhere — the Phase 3 results are expected in 2027.
What is VK2735?
VK2735 is Viking Therapeutics' investigational dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist developed for chronic weight management in adults with obesity. Pharmacologically it sits in the same class as tirzepatide (Mounjaro/Zepbound) — both bind and activate GLP-1 and GIP receptors to produce additive insulinotropic, glucagonostatic, and central anorectic effects. Viking has taken both formulations into Phase 3 — once-weekly subcutaneous (VANQUISH-1 and VANQUISH-2) and once-daily oral (SUNRISE-1 and SUNRISE-2, initiated October 2026) — positioning VK2735 to compete with tirzepatide on efficacy while offering an additional oral pathway. Phase 2 VENTURE (NCT06068946, subcutaneous, 13 weeks, conducted August 2023 to February 2024) randomized 174 adults with obesity or with overweight plus a weight-related comorbidity: mean weight reductions ran from 9.2 kg (9.1%) at 2.5 mg to 14.6 kg (14.7%) at 15 mg, versus 1.8 kg (1.7%) on placebo, and 93% (130/140) of actively treated participants lost at least 5% of baseline weight versus 12% (4/34) on placebo. People with diabetes were ineligible for VENTURE, so the published efficacy and tolerability data come from a non-diabetic population. In a randomized, placebo-controlled maintenance study reported in September 2026 (about 180 adults with obesity), participants who lost roughly 16–19% of body weight over 21 weeks of weekly injections and were then switched to every-other-week or monthly dosing kept, on average, 90% (every-other-week, n=37) and 85% (monthly, n=65) of that weight loss after 12 more weeks, versus 61% for those switched to placebo (n=27). Both Phase 3 VANQUISH trials have finished enrolling (VANQUISH-1, about 4,500 adults with obesity, November 2025; VANQUISH-2, about 1,000 adults with obesity and type 2 diabetes, first quarter of 2026). Each randomizes participants to 7.5 mg, 12.5 mg, 17.5 mg or placebo once weekly for 78 weeks, with percent change in body weight at week 78 as the primary endpoint; Viking expects both to complete in 2027, with 52-week extension studies starting in the first quarter of 2027 and reading out in 2028. No VANQUISH results have been reported.
What VK2735 Is Investigated For
VK2735 is Viking Therapeutics' Phase 3 dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist for obesity, positioned as a direct competitor to tirzepatide in the same therapeutic mechanism. The strongest evidence is the 2026 Phase 2 VENTURE trial (Obesity 2026): 13-week subcutaneous VK2735 produced dose-dependent body weight reductions of up to 14.7% at the 15 mg dose versus 1.7% with placebo — a notable efficacy signal at a shorter timeframe than tirzepatide's standard 72-week pivotal trials, suggesting comparable long-term effects in larger Phase 3 trials. The Phase 3 VANQUISH program (subcutaneous) has completed enrollment — VANQUISH-1 with about 4,500 adults with obesity and VANQUISH-2 with about 1,000 adults with obesity and type 2 diabetes — testing 7.5, 12.5 and 17.5 mg weekly against placebo over 78 weeks; Viking expects both to complete in 2027 and has not reported results. In a randomized, placebo-controlled maintenance study reported in September 2026 (about 180 adults with obesity), participants who lost roughly 16–19% of body weight over 21 weeks of weekly injections and were then switched to every-other-week or monthly dosing kept, on average, 90% (every-other-week, n=37) and 85% (monthly, n=65) of that weight loss after 12 more weeks, versus 61% for those switched to placebo (n=27). A parallel oral VK2735 program completed Phase 2 (up to 12.2% weight loss at 13 weeks) and moved into Phase 3 in October 2026: SUNRISE-1 (obesity) and SUNRISE-2 (overweight or obesity with type 2 diabetes) each target 560 adults randomized to 27.5 mg, 35 mg, 55 mg or placebo once daily for 68 weeks. The honest caveats: long-term cardiovascular and renal outcomes data is not yet available, and the maintenance data cover only 12 weeks after induction in Part 1 of a two-part study whose Part 2 (about 195 adults, comparing daily oral, every-other-week subcutaneous and monthly subcutaneous maintenance) reads out in 2027; head-to-head versus tirzepatide has not been conducted; and the competitive positioning vs. semaglutide, tirzepatide, retatrutide, and other emerging agents will depend on dose, formulation, and access factors as much as on raw efficacy.
History & Discovery
VK2735 emerged from Viking Therapeutics' peptide drug discovery program, with initial subcutaneous Phase 1 results reported in 2023 demonstrating dose-dependent weight loss in obese adults. The Phase 2 VENTURE trial (13-week SC) read out in 2025–2026 with substantial weight reduction supporting the dual GLP-1/GIP mechanism in this molecule. The Phase 3 VANQUISH program began in 2025; VANQUISH-1 completed enrollment of more than 4,500 participants in November 2025 and VANQUISH-2 about 1,000 participants in the first quarter of 2026. In parallel, Viking developed an oral VK2735 formulation that reached Phase 1 in 2024 and Phase 2 in 2025, with reported weight reductions of up to 12.2% over 13 weeks, and took it into Phase 3 in October 2026 as SUNRISE-1 and SUNRISE-2. The competitive positioning has been clear from the start: VK2735 is designed to compete directly with tirzepatide on the same dual-agonist mechanism, with the added oral option as a differentiation point. On 22 September 2026 Viking reported topline results from a randomized, placebo-controlled maintenance study in about 180 adults with obesity: after 21 weeks of weekly induction (roughly 16–19% weight loss), switching to every-other-week or monthly injections kept 90% and 85% of the lost weight at week 33, versus 61% for placebo. As of November 2026 the molecule has not been approved anywhere, no VANQUISH Phase 3 results have been reported, and the peer-reviewed record is still the Phase 2 VENTURE publication (PMID 41508550); the maintenance data are press-release only. Viking's third-quarter update on 28 October 2026 added the detail that matters most for timing: both VANQUISH trials are expected to complete in 2027, 52-week extension studies begin in the first quarter of 2027 and report in 2028, and Part 2 of the maintenance study — about 195 adults comparing daily oral, every-other-week subcutaneous and monthly subcutaneous maintenance — is expected in 2027.
How It Works
VK2735 is a weekly (injectable) or daily (oral) drug that activates two gut hormone receptors at once — GLP-1 and GIP. This combination tells your body to release insulin when blood sugar is high, slows down stomach emptying so you feel full longer, and reduces appetite through brain signaling. The result is substantial weight loss similar to tirzepatide (Mounjaro/Zepbound).
VK2735 binds and activates both the GLP-1 receptor (GLP-1R) and the glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor (GIPR) — the same dual mechanism as tirzepatide. The integrated signaling produces glucose-dependent insulin secretion, suppression of inappropriate glucagon release, slowed gastric emptying, and central anorectic effects through hypothalamic and brainstem GLP-1 receptor populations. The GIP component contributes additional insulinotropic effect beyond pure GLP-1 agonism and appears to contribute to the enhanced weight loss seen with dual agonists compared to GLP-1 monotherapy. The pharmacology is qualitatively similar to tirzepatide; specific receptor selectivity ratios and binding affinities for VK2735 have not been fully published. The subcutaneous VK2735 formulation has a half-life supporting once-weekly dosing through engineered modifications (lipidation or similar). The oral formulation uses bioavailability-enhancing approaches similar to oral semaglutide (SNAC-based) or alternative peptide-oral-delivery strategies; Viking has not disclosed the specific technology. The dose magnitudes are the clearest public evidence of how inefficient oral peptide absorption remains: Phase 3 SUNRISE tests 27.5, 35 and 55 mg once daily by mouth, against 7.5 to 17.5 mg once weekly by injection in VANQUISH — on the order of a hundred times more drug per week for a comparable intended effect.
Evidence Snapshot
Human Clinical Evidence
Strong for the one published Phase 2; four Phase 3 trials under way, none reported. VENTURE (Phase 2, Obesity 2026, NCT06068946, n=174) demonstrated 14.6 kg / 14.7% body weight reduction at 13 weeks with 15 mg subcutaneous dosing versus 1.8 kg / 1.7% on placebo, with 93% of treated participants losing at least 5% of baseline weight. Part 1 of a placebo-controlled maintenance study (topline September 2026, ~180 participants) found every-other-week dosing held 90% (n=37) and monthly dosing 85% (n=65) of the weight lost during 21 weeks of weekly induction, versus 61% on placebo (n=27), over 12 weeks — but that study is registered as a Phase 1 (NCT07838740) whose primary endpoint is safety and tolerability over 33 weeks, weight maintenance is not a registered endpoint, and it is still recruiting. VANQUISH-1 and VANQUISH-2 (subcutaneous, 78 weeks) are fully enrolled and expected to complete in 2027; SUNRISE-1 and SUNRISE-2 (oral, 68 weeks) were initiated in October 2026 and were still listed as not yet recruiting on ClinicalTrials.gov in early November. Everything beyond VENTURE is company disclosure, not peer-reviewed.
Animal / Preclinical
Comprehensive. GLP-1/GIP dual agonist biology is well-characterized through extensive preclinical work with tirzepatide and related agents.
Mechanistic Rationale
Very strong. The GLP-1/GIP dual receptor agonist mechanism is one of the best-validated in obesity medicine through tirzepatide's clinical success.
Research Gaps & Open Questions
What the current literature has not yet settled about VK2735:
- 01Long-term cardiovascular outcomes — Phase 3 efficacy is anticipated but parallel-to-SELECT cardiovascular outcomes trial has not been completed.
- 02Renal outcomes — parallel-to-FLOW data for diabetic kidney disease is not yet available.
- 03Head-to-head efficacy vs. tirzepatide — direct comparison has not been performed.
- 04Long-term weight maintenance — the 2026 maintenance study showed every-other-week and monthly dosing kept 90% and 85% of induction weight loss versus 61% on placebo, but only over 12 weeks, across about 180 participants split over eleven arms, in a trial registered as a Phase 1 with safety as its primary endpoint, and the results are not peer-reviewed; whether less frequent dosing holds weight off over years remains to be established.
- 05Oral VK2735 vs. injectable VK2735 — no head-to-head study exists, and the two Phase 3 programs use different durations (68 weeks oral, 78 weeks subcutaneous) and different populations, so even the Phase 3 readouts will not supply a clean comparison.
- 06Cardiac pharmacology — a 2026 review of GLP-1 receptor co-agonists places VK2735 among compounds whose direct effects on cardiac contractility are predicted from class behaviour rather than measured, and most of the available evidence comes from rodent preparations rather than human cardiac tissue.
- 07Evidence maturity of the maintenance data — the less-frequent-dosing result that much of the public interest rests on comes from a trial registered as a Phase 1 whose primary endpoint is safety, whose weight measures are exploratory, and which is still recruiting; a maintenance endpoint has never been tested as the primary objective of an adequately powered trial.
- 08Real-world access will depend on Viking's commercialization strategy following any FDA approval.
Forms & Administration
Subcutaneous injection (once weekly, Phase 3 VANQUISH) or oral tablet (once daily, Phase 3 SUNRISE). Investigational. Not commercially available — an FDA filing would follow the Phase 3 readouts, none of which have been reported. Every-other-week and monthly maintenance dosing after weekly induction were tested in Part 1 of a placebo-controlled maintenance study, and Part 2 adds a daily oral maintenance arm.
Dosing & Protocols
The ranges below reflect protocols commonly discussed in the literature and by clinicians — not a prescription. Actual dosing for any individual should be determined by a qualified healthcare provider who knows the patient.
Typical Range
The Phase 3 doses are now public. VANQUISH-1 and VANQUISH-2 randomize participants to 7.5 mg, 12.5 mg, 17.5 mg or placebo once weekly by subcutaneous injection for 78 weeks. The oral Phase 3 SUNRISE-1 and SUNRISE-2 trials use 27.5 mg, 35 mg, 55 mg or placebo once daily for 68 weeks. Phase 2 VENTURE tested 2.5, 5, 10 and 15 mg weekly, reaching 14.7% weight loss at 15 mg over 13 weeks. The 2026 maintenance study used a ten-step weekly ladder — 1.25 mg in week 1, 2.5 mg in week 2, then 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15, 17.5 and 20 mg in two-week increments, reaching 22.5 mg at week 17 — with final induction doses of 15, 17.5, 20 or 22.5 mg before the switch to less frequent maintenance. Final commercial dose ranges will be set after Phase 3.
Frequency
Subcutaneous: once weekly over 78 weeks in the VANQUISH Phase 3 trials. Oral: once daily over 68 weeks in SUNRISE. In the 2026 maintenance study, every-other-week and monthly subcutaneous maintenance after weekly induction were also tested, and Part 2 adds daily oral maintenance after subcutaneous induction — an induct-then-switch-route design no approved incretin uses. Final commercial dosing regimens to be established post-regulatory review.
Timing Considerations
No specific timing requirements: can be administered at any time of day, with or without food, and is not tied to exercise timing. Consistency matters more than the specific clock — dose at roughly the same time each day (or same day each week, for weekly protocols) to keep exposure steady.
Cycle Length
Chronic indefinite therapy for obesity management, consistent with the GLP-1/GIP class. No cycling.
Protocol Notes
Dose escalation follows a stepwise pattern similar to tirzepatide and semaglutide to minimize gastrointestinal tolerability issues, particularly nausea during initiation; in VENTURE, gastrointestinal adverse events were most frequent during titration and became less frequent once participants reached steady state. Discontinuation typically leads to weight regain over months as with other GLP-1-based therapies. The oral VK2735 formulation, if approved, would offer a differentiation point versus injectable tirzepatide and would compete with oral semaglutide (Rybelsus) and oral orforglipron in the oral obesity drug space. Oral GLP-1/GIP dual agonist agents have not previously been on market.
VK2735 is investigational and not approved by any regulator as of November 2026. Weight management with GLP-1/GIP agonist therapy requires evaluation by a qualified clinician familiar with the class.
Timeline of Effects
Onset
Phase 2 trials documented weight reductions emerging within 4 weeks of treatment initiation, accumulating over the 13-week treatment period. Phase 3 trials will assess longer-term trajectory.
Peak Effect
Phase 2 13-week peak was approximately 14.7% body weight reduction at the 15 mg dose. In the 2026 maintenance study, an exploratory arm of 13 participants kept on weekly 17.5 mg reached 21.7% weight loss from baseline at week 33 with no plateau — a small, unblinded-to-publication figure, not a trial endpoint. Phase 3 VANQUISH trials will show the longer-term trajectory.
After Discontinuation
The 2026 maintenance study gives the first direct data: participants switched to placebo after 21 weeks of weekly VK2735 still had, on average, 61% of their weight loss 12 weeks later — meaning roughly 39% was regained in three months. Those switched to every-other-week dosing kept 90% of it, and those on monthly dosing 85%. Longer-term regain after stopping has not been measured.
Common Questions
How does VK2735 compare to tirzepatide?
Both are dual GLP-1/GIP receptor agonists with the same general mechanism. VK2735 Phase 2 produced ~15% weight loss at 13 weeks; tirzepatide Phase 3 SURMOUNT-1 produced ~21% at 72 weeks at 15 mg. Direct comparison requires head-to-head trials, which have not been conducted. Practically, the competition will likely hinge on long-term efficacy, side effect profile, cost, and access — not on early-phase efficacy alone.
Can VK2735 be taken less often once weight is lost?
Early data suggest yes. In Viking's maintenance study (topline September 2026), about 180 adults with obesity took weekly VK2735 injections for 21 weeks, losing roughly 16–19% of body weight (versus about 0% on placebo), and were then randomized for 12 weeks to monthly, every-other-week, or continued weekly dosing, or to placebo. The measure was how much of the week-21 weight loss people still had at week 33. Pooled across sub-arms, every-other-week dosing held 90% of it (n=37, p<0.0001) and monthly dosing held 85% (n=65, p<0.0001), versus 61% on placebo (n=27). Viking's release headlines 97% and 90%, but those are the single best-performing cohort on each schedule — 12 people and 11 people respectively — and one monthly cohort's reported 85% excludes a participant more than 2.5 standard deviations from the cohort mean (including them gives 99%). A separate exploratory arm of 13 people who stayed on weekly 17.5 mg reached 21.7% weight loss from baseline at week 33. GI side effects during the maintenance window were not meaningfully different from placebo. The caveats: this was Part 1 of a two-part study, the maintenance phase lasted only 12 weeks, and the results are from a company press release, not a peer-reviewed paper. Part 2, which began in 2026 and enrolls about 195 adults to compare daily oral, every-other-week subcutaneous and monthly subcutaneous maintenance, is expected to report in 2027.
Is there an oral version of VK2735?
Yes, and it is now in Phase 3. Viking ran a Phase 2 study of once-daily oral VK2735 that produced up to 12.2% weight loss at 13 weeks, and in October 2026 it started the Phase 3 SUNRISE program: SUNRISE-1 in adults with obesity and SUNRISE-2 in adults with overweight or obesity and type 2 diabetes, each targeting 560 participants randomized to 27.5 mg, 35 mg, 55 mg or placebo once daily for 68 weeks. The dose numbers are worth noticing — the oral doses are roughly two orders of magnitude larger per week than the 7.5 to 17.5 mg weekly injections being tested in VANQUISH, which is what low oral peptide bioavailability looks like in practice. Whether the pill matches the injection on weight loss is exactly what SUNRISE is designed to find out; no cross-formulation comparison has been published.
When could VK2735 be approved?
Not before 2028 on the current timeline, and that assumes the trials succeed. The two Phase 3 VANQUISH trials of the weekly injection are fully enrolled and dose participants for 78 weeks; Viking expects them to complete in 2027. The oral SUNRISE trials started in October 2026 and dose for 68 weeks. An FDA submission would follow those readouts, and review takes months more. The 52-week VANQUISH extension studies, which begin in the first quarter of 2027 and report in 2028, are what would supply longer-term data. Nothing about VK2735 is approved in any country today, and no cardiovascular or kidney outcomes trial — the kind that produced semaglutide's SELECT and FLOW indications — has been run for it at all.
Who VK2735 Is NOT For
- •Pregnancy — limited safety data; not appropriate during conception or pregnancy.
- •Breastfeeding — limited data.
- •Pediatric use — Phase 3 program focuses on adults; pediatric data not established.
- •Personal or family history of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) — boxed warning anticipated for the class.
- •Multiple Endocrine Neoplasia syndrome type 2 (MEN2) — same rationale.
- •Severe gastroparesis or significant gastrointestinal motility disorders — anticipated relative contraindication.
- •History of severe or recurrent pancreatitis — class precaution.
- •Impaired renal function — every registered VK2735 protocol excludes an estimated glomerular filtration rate below 60 mL/min/1.73 m² at screening, so the trials carry no data in moderate or worse chronic kidney disease.
- •Significant hepatic enzyme elevation — the trials exclude ALT or AST above three times the upper limit of normal, so people with active liver injury are unstudied.
Drug & Supplement Interactions
Class-level interactions anticipated for VK2735 will mirror those of tirzepatide and semaglutide. Slowed gastric emptying may alter absorption of co-administered oral medications, particularly narrow-therapeutic-index agents. Concurrent use with insulin or sulfonylureas may require downward titration to reduce hypoglycemia risk. Other GLP-1 receptor agonists should not be co-administered. Specific interaction studies will inform labeling at approval.
Safety Profile
Common Side Effects
Cautions
- • Investigational — not approved by any regulator as of November 2026
- • Class precautions apply (pancreatitis, gallbladder, MTC boxed warning)
- • Long-term cardiovascular and renal outcomes not yet available
- • The published safety data come from a non-diabetic population — people with diabetes were excluded from the Phase 2 VENTURE study, and the trials in people with type 2 diabetes (VANQUISH-2, SUNRISE-2) have not reported
- • Gastrointestinal adverse events in VENTURE clustered during dose escalation and became less frequent at steady state, which means short trials can understate or overstate tolerability depending on where they stop
- • Nothing sold outside Viking's registered trials is VK2735 — there is no approved product, no compounded supply, and no legitimate research-chemical source
What We Don't Know
Long-term safety beyond the 13-week Phase 2 exposure is not characterized in any peer-reviewed publication; the 78-week VANQUISH and 68-week SUNRISE datasets are the first that will speak to it. No cardiovascular outcomes trial parallel to SELECT (semaglutide) or SURPASS-CVOT (tirzepatide) has been conducted, and no kidney outcomes trial parallel to FLOW. Effects on lean mass, bone density, and pregnancy are unreported. The cardiac pharmacology of GLP-1/GIP co-agonists as a class is still being worked out largely from rodent preparations, and a 2026 review placing VK2735 among those co-agonists describes its contractile effects on the heart as predicted rather than measured.
Legal Status
United States
Investigational — not FDA-approved as of November 2026. The Phase 3 VANQUISH trials of the weekly injection have completed enrollment (VANQUISH-1 in November 2025, VANQUISH-2 in Q1 2026), dose for 78 weeks, and are expected to complete in 2027; the Phase 3 SUNRISE trials of the oral formulation were initiated in October 2026 and dose for 68 weeks, with ClinicalTrials.gov listing primary completion in mid-to-late 2028. An FDA filing would follow those readouts, so no approval decision is possible before 2028 at the earliest.
International
Investigational across all major regulators as of November 2026, with no marketing application filed in any jurisdiction.
Sports & Competition
Not specifically named on the WADA Prohibited List. The GLP-1/GIP class as a whole is not currently named; athletes in weight-class sports should verify with their governing body.
Regulatory status changes over time. Verify current local rules with a qualified professional.
Myths & Misconceptions
Myth
VK2735 is the same drug as tirzepatide.
Reality
Both are GLP-1/GIP dual receptor agonists, but they are distinct molecules with different chemistry, potentially different receptor binding affinities, and different formulation paths (VK2735 has both SC and oral; tirzepatide is SC only). Pharmacologically similar in class, but pharmacokinetically and chemically distinct.
Myth
Phase 2 VENTURE showed 14.7% weight loss in 13 weeks, so Phase 3 will show 30%+.
Reality
Linear extrapolation from short Phase 2 trials to long Phase 3 outcomes is unreliable. Weight loss typically plateaus over time as homeostatic responses adapt. Tirzepatide's Phase 3 SURMOUNT-1 trial reached 20.9% at 72 weeks on 15 mg in 2,539 participants (PMID 35658024), after a 20-week dose-escalation period — and that is the conservative treatment-regimen estimand, which counts people regardless of whether they stayed on the drug. VK2735 Phase 3 outcomes should be expected in a similar range, not dramatically higher.
Myth
The maintenance data prove you can drop to a monthly shot once you have lost the weight.
Reality
That is a reasonable hypothesis, not a demonstrated result. The study everyone cites is registered on ClinicalTrials.gov as a Phase 1 whose primary endpoint is safety and tolerability; weight maintenance is not a registered endpoint. It is still recruiting. Its participants were 18 to 60, obese, otherwise medically healthy and specifically excluded if they had diabetes — a narrower group than the people who would actually be prescribed the drug. The maintenance window was 12 weeks. The headline 97% figure describes 12 people. The pooled results — 90% every-other-week and 85% monthly against 61% on placebo — are genuinely encouraging, and they are also the first word on the question rather than the last.
Myth
Oral VK2735 will replace injectable obesity drugs.
Reality
Oral GLP-1-class drugs have been available (Rybelsus oral semaglutide) without displacing injectable options, due to dosing complexity, absorption variability, and efficacy differences. Oral VK2735 will likely complement rather than replace injectable formulations.
Published Research
10 studiesFuture GLP-1 receptor co-agonists and their cardiac effects.
Weekly Subcutaneous VK2735, a GIP/GLP-1 Receptor Dual Agonist, for Weight Management: Phase 2, Randomized, 13-Week VENTURE Study
Obesity 2026 Phase 2 VENTURE trial (NCT06068946) — still the only peer-reviewed VK2735 trial of any kind. 174 adults with obesity, or with overweight plus a weight-related comorbidity, treated for 13 weeks between August 2023 and February 2024; people with diabetes were ineligible. Mean reductions ran from 9.2 kg (9.1%) at 2.5 mg to 14.6 kg (14.7%) at 15 mg against 1.8 kg (1.7%) on placebo, and 93% (130/140) of treated participants lost at least 5% of baseline weight versus 12% (4/34) on placebo. Note that several authors are Viking Therapeutics employees, including the company's chief executive, while the paper carries a no-conflicts-of-interest declaration.
Tirzepatide Once Weekly for the Treatment of Obesity.
Viking Therapeutics Announces Positive Topline Results from Maintenance Study of GLP-1/GIP Agonist VK2735 Demonstrating the Promise of Multiple Maintenance Dosing Regimens
Viking Therapeutics Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial Results and Provides Corporate Update
Viking Therapeutics Reports Third Quarter 2026 Financial Results and Provides Corporate Update (October 28, 2026)
NCT07104500 — VK2735 for Weight Management Phase 3 (VANQUISH 1)
NCT07104383 — VK2735 for Weight Management Type 2 Diabetes Phase 3 (VANQUISH 2)
NCT07868835 — Oral VK2735 for Weight Management Phase 3 (SUNRISE 1)
NCT07838740 — A Phase 1 Study of VK2735 in Obese Adults Without Comorbidities (the maintenance-dosing study)
The registry record behind the widely-quoted maintenance-dosing results. It is registered as a Phase 1, its primary outcome is the incidence of treatment-emergent adverse events over 33 weeks, its only secondary outcome is pharmacokinetics, and weight-loss maintenance is not a registered endpoint. Estimated enrollment 270, still recruiting, with eligibility restricted to medically healthy adults aged 18 to 60 with a BMI of 30 or above and diabetes excluded. Worth reading alongside the press release, which describes the same study without these details.
VK2735 Compared
Quick Facts
- Class
- GLP-1 / GIP Dual Receptor Agonist
- Tier
- B
- Evidence
- Strong
- Safety
- Moderate Data
- Updated
- Nov 2026
- Citations
- 10PubMed
Also known as
Tags
Peptide Families
Related Goals
Evidence Score
Clinical Trials
View Clinical TrialsLinks to ClinicalTrials.gov for reference. Listing does not imply endorsement.