Viking Therapeutics’ weight-loss drug succeeds in mid-stage study

(Reuters) -Viking Therapeutics said on Tuesday its experimental drug to treat obesity helped achieve “significant” weight loss in a mid-stage study, sending the drugmaker’s shares up more than 40% before the bell.

The drug candidate, VK2735, helped obese or overweight patients lose 14.6 kg, on average, after 13 weeks, according to data from the study.

Viking Therapeutics said it plans to meet with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to discuss further steps for the development of VK2735.

(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Shounak Dasgupta)