$1,000 in Viking Therapeutics 3 Years Ago? Here’s Your Life-Changing ROI Today

Viking Therapeutics just handed early investors a masterclass in biotech wealth multiplication. Had you parked $1,000 in this stock in 2022, your portfolio would be doing backflips right now.

The Numbers Don’t Lie

While we’re not crunching the exact figures here (Wall Street hates when you do that), suffice to say Viking’s pipeline progress turned modest bets into yacht-downpayment territory. Most hedge funds wish they’d caught this wave.

High-Risk, High-Reward Playbook

Biotech isn’t for the faint-hearted—clinical trial results swing share prices harder than crypto influencers move shitcoins. But when a small-cap like Viking nails its endpoints? Ka-ching.

The Punchline

Next time someone scoffs at ‘risky’ biotech plays, remind them: the real risk is watching from the sidelines while others retire early. Just maybe don’t mention the 90% of drug developers that crash and burn—we’re being bullish today.

Viking Therapeutics: The best may be yet to come

The excitement around the stock centers on its lead development compound, VK2735. It's a GLP-1/GIP dual agonist for the treatment of obesity. Vikings VK2735 is following in the footsteps ofGLP-1/GIP dual agonist tirzepatide (branded as Zepbound), and investors are hoping VK2735 can achieve similar levels of success.

Where is this promising drug now

 VK2735 is in phase 3 trials in subcutaneous (injection) form, with results probably not due until 2027, and, arguably more excitingly, it's in phase 2 trials in an oral form. The latter has obvious benefits of convenience and comfort for patients, and management expects to report on the phase 2 trial this year.

Investors have high hopes, as the phase 2 subcutaneous trial resulted in up to 88% of patients experiencing more than 10% weight loss.

Image source: Getty Images.

The phase 1 trials in oral FORM were also impressive (remember that phase 1 trials are fundamentally exploratory and often aim to understand safety and tolerability), with a mean weight loss of 8.2% after 28 days of dosing.

These results are enough to encourage Viking investors that VK2735 could prove to be a hugely successful compound, and the results of the latest tests of the oral form are eagerly anticipated, not least by potential larger pharmaceutical companies that may try to buy the company and take VK2735 (oral) through phase 3.