One of the hottest areas of the pharmaceutical industry right now is the weight loss treatment space. Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have been the primary innovators. Their groundbreaking glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) agonists are in high demand for both diabetes and weight loss, marketed under names including Ozempic, Rybelsus, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound.

But while they have dominated that niche in recent years, those two companies may finally have some real competition. In late February, clinical-stage biopharma Viking Therapeutics (NASDAQ: VKTX) made waves when it released impressive phase 2 trial data for its obesity drug candidate, VK2735. In the wake of that news, shares surged, and they are now up more than 300% year to date.

With that big share price move in the rear-view mirror, have investors missed their chance to get in on the next big player in weight loss?

Continue reading

Source Fool.com