Viking’s Checkmate Gambit: Can They Top Goliath Lilly?

Let’s be honest: Eli Lilly (LLY) is the kind of company that makes you feel like you’re staring at a spreadsheet that’s laughing at you. A 49,000-employee juggernaut dominating the weight management space? Of course they are. But here’s the twist: Viking Therapeutics (VKTX), a scrappy 48-person startup with the audacity of a caffeine-fueled grad student, thinks it can outmaneuver them. Let’s call it the David-and-Goliath of biotech, but with more acronyms and fewer sling-wielding metaphors.

One-upping Eli Lilly? (Spoiler: It’s Complicated)

Lilly’s tirzepatide is the current king of GLP-1/GIP agonists, and their triple agonist, Retatrutide, is the crown prince. It’s all very impressive, like watching a chess grandmaster set up a checkmate. But here’s the thing: Vikings didn’t just pillage; they innovated. Their VK2735 is a dual GLP-1/GIP beast, and they’re already toying with a quadruple agonist-GLP-1, GIP, Amylin, and Calcitonin. It’s the biotech equivalent of building a four-player co-op game where everyone wins… or everyone crashes. (And yes, I’m aware I just compared drug development to a video game. Don’t judge me.)

Viking’s plan? File for an IND by year-end, then combine VK2735 with their early-stage Amylin-Calcitonin therapy. A quadruple agonist would be a first. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Phase 3 trials are a minefield. Viking’s oral VK2735 had a 12.2% weight loss in 13 weeks-stellar, until you remember 12.2% is also the percentage of people who still believe in Santa. The dropout rate? A red flag waving so hard it’s got its own ZIP code. But hey, maybe they’ll just lower the dose and stretch the timeline. (Patience, thy name is biotech.)

Hedge Your Bets (Unless You Like Losing Money)

Viking’s phase 2 MASH results for VK2809 are promising, but let’s not pretend this isn’t a high-stakes poker game. Two FDA-approved MASH drugs exist. Two! That’s less than the number of people who’ve read the entire *Wall Street Journal* cover-to-cover. Still, Viking’s pipeline feels like a Russian nesting doll of ambition: open one hope, find another. But if their phase 3 trials fail? Their stock will plummet faster than my confidence in crypto. (And I once bought Dogecoin because Shiba Inus looked cute.)

So, should you invest? If you’re the type who bets on underdogs and has a “just this once” mentality, maybe. But remember: Lilly’s a fortress. Viking’s a house of cards. And I’m not saying either is a better bet-I’m just saying one’s a castle, and the other’s a Rube Goldberg machine. (Also, don’t take financial advice from someone who once bought a “get rich quick” e-book.) 🤞

2025-10-16 15:53

One-upping Eli Lilly? (Spoiler: It’s Complicated)

Hedge Your Bets (Unless You Like Losing Money)

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