Weight-Loss Upstart Viking Needs a Deal to Vie With Lilly and Novo

Wall Street says drug developer needs a partner or an M&A deal
Drugmakers have struggled to meet demand for obesity-tied meds

Novo Nordisk A/S is shipping more introductory doses of its blockbuster weight-loss drug Wegovy in the US as it grapples with supply constraints and competition from Eli Lilly. CEO Lars Fruergaard Jorgensen says the company will continue to ramp up supply of its popular weight-loss drug “gradually.” He speaks with Bloomberg’s Katie Greifeld and Romaine Bostick.Source: Bloomberg

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By Angel Adegbesan

May 22, 2024 at 11:07 AM UTC

This article is for subscribers only.

Hope for a weight-loss drug that’s better than Ozempic and Wegovy has sent Viking Therapeutics Inc. shares skyrocketing. But to reach the next level the biopharmaceutical developer likely needs a partner — or a buyer.

Viking’s shares have more than tripled this year, briefly reaching a nearly $10 billion market valuation. Fueling the stock’s climb were results from a mid-stage trial of the biotech’s experimental weight loss shot as well an early look at a pill formulation that could eventually compete with the top-selling medicines from Eli Lilly & Co. and Novo Nordisk A/S.