Roche data falls short of Viking weight loss drug, says Truist

Truist analyst Joon Lee keeps a Buy rating on Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) with a $120 price target after Roche (RHHBY) disclosed that its CT-388 dual agonist drove mean placebo-adjusted weight loss of 18.8% over 24 weeks. The data is impressive but falls short of efficacy Viking’s VK2735 reported in the Phase 2 VENTURE, the analyst tells investors in a research note. The firm says that caveats of cross-trial comparisons notwithstanding, the slope of weight loss with VK2735 looks steeper and likely to exceed weight loss reported by CT-388 at later time points. However, both appear to be significantly better than tirzeptatide, the current market leader from Eli Lilly (LLY), adds Truist. It continues to view VK2735 as the better drug and possibly best-in-class.