LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Viking Therapeutics soared as much as 120% in early trading after the firm revealed a positive set of results from a mid-stage trial of its non-alcoholic fatty liver disease treatment.
The Californian biotech said its Phase II trial on VK2809 had met its primary goal of reducing low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in patients with NAFLD when compared to the placebo.

Viking stated it had also met its secondary endpoint of showing significant reductions in liver fat content.

Participants in the study saw an average reduction in liver fat of 58.1%, versus the 8.9% seen in the control group, and the proportion of patients achieving a reduction of at least 30% was 83.3%.

Viking said that VK2809 had been well-tolerated and reported no serious adverse events.

The firm will submit the study's complete results for presentation at The Liver Meeting in San Francisco in November.

As of 1445 BST, Viking shares were 114.15% higher at $22.21 each.

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