VK2735
VK2735 is an investigational GIP and GLP-1 medicine from Viking Therapeutics, tested as a weekly injection and a daily tablet. Phase 3 is under way. It is not approved.
Also searched as: VK-2735.
Educational information. This page does not give dosing instructions or tell you what to take. Ask a prescriber about your own care.
In plain English
VK2735 is a lab-made peptide from Viking Therapeutics that switches on two gut-hormone receptors, GIP and GLP-1. Tirzepatide (Zepbound) uses the same pair. VK2735 is being developed as a weekly injection and as a daily tablet.
The injection's 13-week phase 2 trial (VENTURE) is published. Adults without diabetes lost an average of 9.1% to 14.7% of body weight on different weekly amounts, versus 1.7% on placebo. For the tablet, the company reported 13-week phase 2 results in August 2025, with up to 12.2% weight loss at the highest amount versus 1.3% on placebo. More people stopped the tablet (28%) than stopped placebo (18%). Those tablet figures come from a press release, not a journal.
Two phase 3 injection trials (78 weeks, about 5,600 people in all) are registered as no longer recruiting, and two phase 3 tablet trials are registered but not yet recruiting. VK2735 is not approved anywhere, and no phase 3 results were found.
Brand names and products
A generic name identifies the drug itself. A brand name identifies one company's product. One drug can come in several products with different forms and approved uses, so the brand name often tells you more about what a prescription is for.
No brand name is recorded for this medicine because there is no approved product.
Approved and investigational. Every use of VK2735 is investigational. There is no approved product.
How it works
VK2735 is a peptide that activates two receptors: GLP-1, which reduces appetite and slows stomach emptying, and GIP, a second gut hormone whose exact role in weight loss is still being worked out. Tirzepatide uses the same dual approach. Viking also makes VK2735 as a tablet, though the tablet's trial results so far come from a company announcement.
Forms and approval status
| Form | How it is taken | U.S. status |
|---|---|---|
| VK2735 injection (investigational) | Once weekly in trials. Available only inside clinical trials. | Not approved. Viking Therapeutics is running two 78-week phase 3 trials of the injection, one in adults without type 2 diabetes (4,500 people) and one in adults with type 2 diabetes (1,100). Both are listed as no longer recruiting, with primary completion registered for July 2027. This atlas did not find a regulatory filing. |
| VK2735 tablet (investigational) | Once daily in the phase 2 trial. Available only inside clinical trials. | Not approved. A 13-week phase 2 trial (280 people) is complete, and the company announced its results in August 2025. Two 68-week phase 3 tablet trials, one without and one with type 2 diabetes (560 people each), are registered as not yet recruiting, with a listed start of November 2026. |
What the trials found
These are group averages from published trials in adults without diabetes unless stated. See how to read trial numbers before comparing.
VENTURE (VK2735 injection)
Average change in body weight. Every bar uses one scale, 0 to 25 percent.
- People studied
- 176 adults enrolled with obesity, or overweight plus at least one weight-related condition, without diabetes
- Length
- 13 weeks
- Compared with
- Placebo. Several weekly injection amounts from 2.5 mg to 15 mg
- What was measured
- Average change in body weight at week 13
- Analysis approach
- Not stated in the abstract
- Other results
- Weight loss of at least 5%: 93% (130 of 140) of people on VK2735 vs 12% (4 of 34) on placebo.
- Safety
- The common side effects were in the stomach and gut. The authors report they became less frequent after the amount reached steady state.
- Limits
- Phase 2 with only 13 weeks of treatment, so it says little about longer-term weight loss. The abstract gives only the lowest and highest amounts, so the groups in between are not shown. Several authors work for the company. People with diabetes were excluded. Group averages do not predict one person's result.
Sources: Bays HE 2026
VENTURE-Oral (VK2735 tablet)
Average change in body weight. Every bar uses one scale, 0 to 25 percent.
- People studied
- 280 adults enrolled with obesity, or overweight plus at least one weight-related condition
- Length
- 13 weeks
- Compared with
- Placebo tablet once daily. Five tablet amounts from 15 mg to 120 mg, with the higher amounts reached in steps over the first weeks
- What was measured
- Average change in body weight at week 13, as reported by the company
- Analysis approach
- Not stated in the company announcement
- Other results
- Early study dropout was 28% on VK2735 vs 18% on placebo. Stopping because of side effects was 20% vs 13%.
- Safety
- Nausea and vomiting were more common on VK2735 than on placebo. In the company's table, vomiting reached 35% at the two highest amounts vs 10% on placebo. The company says 98% of drug-related side effects were mild or moderate.
- Limits
- These figures come from a company press release, not a peer-reviewed paper. The trial lasted 13 weeks, so results cannot be compared with 68-week or 78-week trials. More people stopped the tablet than stopped placebo. The announcement does not say how missing data were handled.
Safety
No FDA label exists for this medicine yet. The information below comes from published trial reports. The points below are a summary and may be incomplete.
Boxed warning and label notes
- VK2735 injection (investigational): Not applicable. Not approved.
- VK2735 tablet (investigational): Not applicable. Not approved.
Warnings labels describe
- Not approved, so no official label exists. Safety information comes from one published phase 2 trial and a company announcement.
- Because it activates the GLP-1 receptor, the safety points seen with that class are expected to be relevant, but no label exists to say so.
Most common in trials
- Nausea and vomiting
- Constipation and diarrhea
- In the injection trial, stomach and gut side effects became less frequent after the amount reached steady state
- In the tablet trial, vomiting and constipation rose at higher amounts, and more people stopped the drug than stopped placebo
Less common but serious
- The injection paper's abstract does not list serious events. The company says 98% of drug-related events in the tablet trial were mild or moderate.
What is still unknown
- Phase 3 results. The injection trials have a registered primary completion date of July 2027.
- Whether and when it will be filed with the FDA. No filing was found.
- How well the tablet is tolerated over a longer time. Early stopping was higher on the drug than on placebo in the 13-week trial.
- Weight loss beyond 13 weeks, and what happens after stopping or moving to a lower amount.
- How it compares with tirzepatide in a head-to-head trial. None was found.
Compiled from public information: FDA-approved labels, manufacturer websites, ClinicalTrials.gov and published journal articles. Sources are listed at the bottom of this page.
Sources
- Weekly subcutaneous VK2735, a GIP/GLP-1 receptor dual agonist, for weight management: phase 2, randomized, 13-week VENTURE study Bays HE, et al. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2026;34(3):537-549. PMID 41508550. Funding: Not stated in the abstract. Several authors are Viking Therapeutics employees. Journal article
- VK2735 subcutaneous, 78-week phase 3 in adults without type 2 diabetes (NCT07104500) ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT07104500. Sponsor: Viking Therapeutics. Trial registry
- VK2735 subcutaneous, 78-week phase 3 in adults with type 2 diabetes (NCT07104383) ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT07104383. Sponsor: Viking Therapeutics. Trial registry
- ClinicalTrials.gov U.S. National Library of Medicine. Trial registry
- Viking Therapeutics announces positive top-line results from phase 2 VENTURE-Oral dosing trial of VK2735 tablet formulation in patients with obesity Viking Therapeutics press release, August 19, 2025. Company announcement; not peer reviewed. Trade press, secondary source
- VK2735 oral formulation, 13-week phase 2 dose-finding study (NCT06828055) ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT06828055. Sponsor: Viking Therapeutics. Trial registry
- VK2735 oral, 68-week phase 3 in adults without type 2 diabetes (NCT07868835) ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT07868835. Sponsor: Viking Therapeutics. Trial registry
- VK2735 oral, 68-week phase 3 in adults with type 2 diabetes (NCT07868939) ClinicalTrials.gov identifier NCT07868939. Sponsor: Viking Therapeutics. Trial registry