Business
Viking Therapeutics Reports Fourth Quarter and Year-End 2019 Financial Results and Provides Corporate Update
Conference call scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET today - Phase 2b VOYAGE Study of VK2809 in Biopsy-Confirmed NASH Underway - Additional VK2809 Phase 2 Results
About this update from Viking Therapeutics, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"Conference call scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET today\n - Phase 2b VOYAGE Study of VK2809 in Biopsy-Confirmed NASH Underway\n - Additional VK2809 Phase 2 Results Selected for Podium Presentation at EASL\n - IND Filing for VK0214 in X-ALD Expected in 2Q20\n - Balance Sheet Remains Strong, Year-End Cash Approximately $275 Million\n\n\nSAN DIEGO, Feb. 26, 2020 /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 fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2019, and provided an update on its clinical pipeline and other corporate developments.\n\n \n \n\n \nHighlights from the Quarter and Year-Ended December 31, 2019:\n\"We made excellent progress with our lead programs in 2019, setting the company up for an exciting year in 2020,\" stated Brian Lian, Ph.D., chief executive officer of Viking Therapeutics. \"In the fourth quarter, we announced the initiation of the VOYAGE Phase 2b study of our novel thyroid receptor agonist VK2809, for non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). We are currently in the process of executing this trial in the U.S. and anticipate opening sites outside the U.S. in the months ahead. We were also recently informed that an abstract highlighting additional data from the prior 12-week Phase 2 study of VK2809 has been selected for a podium presentation at the upcoming International Liver Conference, or EASL, in April. We look forward to sharing the data in this prestigious forum. We've also made progress with our second thyroid receptor beta agonist, VK0214, for the treatment of X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD), and we expect to file an IND in the second quarter to initiate clinical development with this molecule. The continued advancement of these programs is supported by our strong balance sheet. We ended the year with $275 million in cash and equivalents, which we believe is sufficient to support development of our pipeline through multiple clinical milestones.\" \nPipeline and Corporate Highlights\nPhase 2b VOYAGE study underway evaluating VK2809 in biopsy-confirmed NASH. VK2809 is an orally available small molecule agonist of the thyroid hormone receptor that possesses selectivity for liver tissue, as well as the beta receptor s...