Why Viking Therapeutics Stock Is Crashing Today
Viking Therapeutics' (NASDAQ: VKTX) shares were down by 9.9% on heavy volume as of 11:14 a.m. ET on Monday. This sizable drop was due to Pfizer's (NYSE: PFE) announcement that it will advance its oral glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonist danuglipron into late-stage testing later this year. As a result, Viking's midstage weight-loss candidate, VK2735, could face stiff competition from yet another industry giant.
Viking's shares have been soaring this year, in large part because of the progress of VK2735 as a novel treatment for weight loss. However, the biotech's midstage obesity candidate is still several years behind industry leaders such as Eli Lilly, Novo Nordisk, Amgen, and Pfizer.
To compete with these first movers, VK2735 will need to have a best-in-class profile. That's achievable given its impressive safety and efficacy profiles so far. However, because of the highly competitive nature of the market, Viking can't afford any major clinical setbacks with VK2735. The drug is crucial to Viking's value proposition, with some analysts estimating its peak sales at more than $6 billion per year.
Source Fool.com
