Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) Slashes 42% on Huge Clinical Study Dropout Rate

We recently published 10 Stocks Hammered Harder Than Wall Street. Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) is one of Tuesday’s worst performers.

Viking Therapeutics fell by 42.12 percent on Tuesday to close at $24.36 apiece as investors soured on the high dropout rates in its ongoing clinical trial for its experimental weight loss drug.

In a statement on Tuesday, Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) said that its phase 2 trial for VK2735 tablet saw a 28-percent dropout rate in overall enrollees, after suffering from gastrointestinal (GI)-related adverse effects.

Among subjects receiving VK2735, 98 percent of reported drug-related treatment-emergent adverse events (TEAEs) were categorized as mild or moderate in severity, with participants suffering from both mild to moderate nausea and vomiting.

In a call with analysts, Viking Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ:VKTX) CEO Brian Lian said that GI-related adverse event rates might be further reduced through lower starting doses and or slower dose escalation.

He added that the company was looking to explore it further in an upcoming maintenance dosing study.

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