By High Peptides Research Team · August 02, 2026

Investigational GIP/GLP-1 Agonist

VK2735: Viking's Dual Agonist

📄 5 PubMed citations

Viking Therapeutics' dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist produced up to 14.7% mean weight loss in the Phase 2 VENTURE trial. Here's what the peer-reviewed evidence actually shows — and why the viral “Zealand Pharma oral GLP-1” framing is wrong.

🔬 Social feeds have mislabeled VK2735 as a Zealand Pharma oral GLP-1 drug. It isn't. We trace every number here to the published VENTURE Phase 2 trial (Obesity, 2026) and separate the peer-reviewed subcutaneous data from the still-unpublished oral program.

14.7%

Mean weight loss at the 15 mg dose, Week 13 (VENTURE Phase 2, PMID 41508550)

93%

Treated participants losing ≥5% body weight vs 12% on placebo (PMID 41508550)

Weeks of treatment in the VENTURE Phase 2 dose-ranging study (PMID 41508550)

Mechanism of Action

How It Works

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GLP-1 Receptor Arm

The GLP-1 component drives satiety and reduced food intake, slows gastric emptying, and stimulates glucose-dependent insulin secretion — the appetite- and glucose-regulating pathway characterized across GLP-1 biology (PMID 33320179).

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GIP Receptor Arm

Adding GIP receptor agonism is thought to promote weight loss through anorectic neural circuits and increased thermogenesis, and may attenuate the nausea associated with GLP-1 alone — widening the tolerability window (PMID 42492687).

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Why Dual Agonism

Hitting GLP-1 and GIP together is a clinically validated strategy: tirzepatide, an approved once-weekly GIP/GLP-1 dual agonist, produces clinically meaningful weight reduction across Phase 3 trials (PMID 42303274).

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Subcutaneous vs Oral

The robust peer-reviewed VK2735 data is the weekly subcutaneous formulation from VENTURE. Viking is also developing an oral version, but no peer-reviewed efficacy results for the oral form are published yet — a distinction the viral posts blur (PMID 41508550).

Data

What the Data Shows

VK2735 15 mg

Mean weight loss, Week 13

14.7%

VK2735 2.5 mg

Mean weight loss, Week 13

9.1%

Placebo

Mean weight loss, Week 13

1.7%

≥5% weight loss (active)

Proportion of treated participants

93%

≥5% weight loss (placebo)

Proportion of placebo participants

12%

Bottom Line

Key Takeaways

✅ What We Know

VK2735 is developed by Viking Therapeutics — not Zealand Pharma — as a dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist for weight management (VENTURE Phase 2, PMID 41508550).
In the 13-week Phase 2 VENTURE trial, weekly subcutaneous VK2735 produced mean weight reductions of 9.1% (2.5 mg) to 14.7% (15 mg) vs 1.7% for placebo (PMID 41508550).
93% of actively treated participants lost at least 5% of body weight, compared with 12% on placebo (PMID 41508550).
Adverse events were primarily gastrointestinal and decreased in reported frequency after dose titration to steady state (PMID 41508550).
The GIP arm may aid weight loss via anorectic neural circuits and thermogenesis while attenuating GLP-1-induced nausea (PMID 42492687).
Dual GIP/GLP-1 agonism is already validated in approved therapy: tirzepatide delivers clinically meaningful weight loss in Phase 3 trials (PMID 42303274).

⚠️ What We Don't Know

Whether the ORAL VK2735 formulation matches the subcutaneous results — no peer-reviewed oral efficacy trial is published, so viral “oral GLP-1” claims are unverified.
Long-term (52+ week) efficacy, weight maintenance, and safety — VENTURE ran only 13 weeks (PMID 41508550).
How VK2735 compares head-to-head with tirzepatide, retatrutide, or orforglipron — no direct comparative trial has been published.
Effects in people with diabetes — participants with diabetes mellitus were excluded from VENTURE (PMID 41508550).
VK2735 is investigational and not FDA-approved; it is not legally available as a prescription medication or consumer product.

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

What is VK2735?

VK2735 is an investigational dual GIP/GLP-1 receptor agonist developed by Viking Therapeutics for weight management. In the Phase 2 VENTURE trial, weekly subcutaneous VK2735 produced up to 14.7% mean weight loss over 13 weeks (PMID 41508550).

Is VK2735 made by Zealand Pharma?

No. Despite circulating social-media posts, VK2735 is a Viking Therapeutics compound, as documented in the peer-reviewed VENTURE Phase 2 publication (PMID 41508550). Zealand Pharma develops different metabolic candidates.

Is there an oral version of VK2735?

Viking Therapeutics is developing an oral formulation of VK2735, but the robust peer-reviewed efficacy data — the VENTURE Phase 2 trial — is for the weekly subcutaneous form. No peer-reviewed oral efficacy results are published yet, so “oral VK2735” claims should be treated as preliminary (PMID 41508550).

How much weight loss did VK2735 produce?

In VENTURE, mean weight reduction ranged from 9.1% at the 2.5 mg dose to 14.7% at the 15 mg dose over 13 weeks, versus 1.7% for placebo; 93% of treated participants lost at least 5% of body weight (PMID 41508550).

How does VK2735 compare to tirzepatide and orforglipron?

VK2735 uses the same dual GIP/GLP-1 mechanism as the approved drug tirzepatide (PMID 42303274), whereas orforglipron is an oral GLP-1-only receptor agonist approved in 2026 (PMID 42479349). No published head-to-head trial compares them, so cross-trial numbers are not reliable.

Can I buy VK2735?

No. VK2735 is an investigational drug still in clinical development and is not FDA-approved or legally sold as a consumer product. This page is educational only and not medical advice.