Viking Therapeutics is exploding higher following the release of positive topline results from a maintenance study of its obesity drug candidate, VK2735. The data, which showed 22% placebo-adjusted weight loss at week 33 and demonstrated the viability of monthly and every-other-week dosing regimens, was reported overnight and triggered a significant surge in investor interest. By proving the drug can maintain weight loss with less frequent dosing, the company is increasingly viewed as a legitimate challenger to the market duopoly held by Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk.