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Viking Therapeutics has inked a $150m multi-year manufacturing deal with CordenPharma to secure the future supply of its investigational obesity drug, VK2735, as the biotech positions itself to compete in the booming weight-loss market dominated by Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly.
The agreement will provide Viking with the capacity to produce “multiple metric tonnes” of VK2735 a year – enough to manufacture over one billion oral pills, 100 million autoinjectors, and 100 million vial and syringe products annually, according to the US-based biotech. Viking will make $150m in prepayments over three years, which will go towards future orders.
Viking is planning to enter the obesity space, which is dominated by glucagon-like 1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs) like Novo Nordisk’s semaglutide (branded as Wegovy and Ozempic), and Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide (branded Mounjaro and Zepbound).
“In a market as big as the obesity one, it is very normal for medium to smaller-sized companies to create partnerships, otherwise they wouldn’t be able to meet the demand,” said Costanza Alciati, analyst at GlobalData.
“It is expected that manufacturing the oral peptide should be easier from a manufacturers point of view and promote easier access, but it is good that companies are already looking into how to meet patient demand once on the market,” she added.
Viking’s stock fell 12.6% to a low of $24.4 following the announcement, due to some investor chatter indicating that the latest news has made the company a potential acquisition target.
VK2735 targets obesity space with evolving supply trends
“It is very encouraging that clinical stage companies are already looking into manufacturing deals and for solutions to meet the GLP-1R agonists demand, following the worldwide shortages experienced for semaglutide and tirzepatide,” said Alciati.
Both Novo Nordisk and Eli Lilly have faced significant supply constraints over the past two years as demand for their weight loss drugs surged. However, after years of shortage reports, the tide has turned in recent months. Novo Nordisk recently invested $6.5bn to boost US production capacity, and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) officially declared the semaglutide shortage over in February 2025. Eli Lilly’s tirzepatide shortage was officially resolved in December 2024.
While the increased production from these pharma giants is expected to ease short-term supply issues, Alciati notes that having additional players like Viking entering the market could also help address long-term patient demand.
VK2735 is a dual GLP-1 and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptor. Viking is testing VK2735 in two formulations, a subcutaneous injection and an oral pill. The company expects to launch a Phase III study for the injectable version in Q2 2025, while the oral version is being tested in the Phase II VENTURE trial (NCT06068946).