Viking Therapeutics soars on trial success of liver disease drug

US biotech firm Viking Therapeutics’ (Nasdaq: VKTX) shares  rocketed 140% in pre-market trading on Tuesday, hitting an all time high of $24, after the company reported positive results in a mid-stage trial of a treatment for non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

Viking announced positive top-line results from a 12-week Phase II study of VK2809, its novel liver-selective thyroid receptor beta agonist, in patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). The study successfully achieved its primary endpoint, with patients receiving VK2809 demonstrating statistically significant reductions in LDL-C compared with placebo.

In addition, the trial's secondary endpoint was achieved, with VK2809-treated patients experiencing statistically significant reductions in liver fat content compared with placebo. An abstract describing the results has been submitted for consideration for presentation at The Liver Meeting 2018, the annual meeting of the American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases (AASLD), scheduled for November 9-13, 2018, in San Francisco, USA.