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Viking Therapeutics Reports First Quarter 2019 Financial Results and Provides Corporate Update
SAN DIEGO, May 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (Viking) (NASDAQ: VKTX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the
About this update from Viking Therapeutics, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"SAN DIEGO, May 2, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (Viking) (NASDAQ: VKTX), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders, today announced its financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2019, and provided an update on its clinical pipeline and other corporate developments.\n\n \nHighlights from the Quarter, and Subsequent to March 31, 2019:\n\"The progress and momentum we achieved during 2018 have continued into 2019,\" stated Brian Lian, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Viking Therapeutics. \"At the recent EASL conference, we announced positive new data from our Phase 2 trial of VK2809 in patients with fatty liver disease and hypercholesterolemia demonstrating impressive efficacy at doses as low as 5 mg daily. Even at these lower exposures, VK2809 shows potent liver fat reduction and improvements in plasma lipids that are on par with the previously reported 10 mg doses. These data provide further evidence that VK2809's unique liver-targeted mechanism may lead to enhanced tissue exposures, allowing for greater flexibility in dosing. In addition, VK2809's predictable PK, encouraging safety, and excellent tolerability continue to indicate an exciting therapeutic profile in the setting of NASH. The observed reduction in LDL-C and other lipids also suggests potential cardiovascular benefits, an important consideration in this patient population. We remain on track to initiate a Phase 2b study of VK2809 in biopsy-confirmed NASH later this year.\" \nPipeline and Corporate Highlights\nPositive VK2809 Phase 2 data presented at the Late-Breaker poster session of the 2019 EASL conference. The company recently announced additional data from the low-dose 5 mg cohort in the Phase 2 trial of VK2809 in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and hypercholesterolemia. The results demonstrated that patients receiving VK2809 experienced statistically significant reductions in liver fat content relative to placebo, as well as statistically significant improvements in response rates, defined by the proportion of patients experiencing at least a 30% or a 50% relative reduction in liver fat, compared with patients receiving placebo. Consistent with prior data from the 10 mg cohorts, VK2809 was well tolerated when dosed at 5 mg ...