The gold rush for anti-obesity medicines is here, and the stakes are high. Per a report by Morgan Stanley Research, the market for weight loss drugs will be worth around $77 billion by 2030, despite being worth only $2.4 billion in 2022.

Where should investors place their bets to gain some exposure to this hotter-than-hot trend? An investment in one of the established market leaders, like Eli Lilly (NYSE: LLY), could be sufficient -- but buying shares of an up-and-coming biotech like Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VKTX) could pay off. It's time to evaluate these two alternatives.

Viking Therapeutics isn't yet competing directly in the market for weight loss therapies, as it's a young biotech that hasn't gotten its first medicine approved. Nonetheless, per some phase 2 clinical trial data it published on Feb. 27, there is a good chance that will change soon enough.

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Source Fool.com