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Being studied in people · not FDA-approved

VK2735

VK2735 is an experimental weight-loss drug being tested as both a weekly injection and a daily pill.

What matters first

Why people look it up
Sellers offer unapproved VK2735 to people seeking a newer weight-loss drug.
What the evidence shows
A short phase 2 injection trial reported average weight loss over 13 weeks. Two larger phase 3 injection trials are active. The pill remains earlier in testing.
Dose status
Trials tested VK2735 at 2.5–15 mg once a week. There is no FDA-approved dose or dosing label. Every number below is a trial arm, not a treatment schedule.

Evidence snapshot

Published human trial

The fastest way to see what kind of evidence this page is built on.

Regulation
Not FDA-approvedNo US prescribing label
Dose source
Human trial arms4 arms · not a schedule
Safety evidence
4 listed safety findingsCommon and serious effects shown apart
Sources
5 cited sourcesMedical review complete · 2026-08-16
Open the shareable evidence image
VK2735 at a glance: published human trial, dosing basis, regulatory status, safety coverage, and cited-source count. These details summarize the available sources; they are not treatment recommendations.

Further down: research and dosing details · how it works · how good the evidence is · questions

Medically reviewed by Jennifer Montecillo, MD · non-practicing medical reviewerReviewed 2026-08-16open the primary sources

What is known about VK2735

VK2735 is an experimental weight-loss drug studied as a weekly shot and as a separate pill. In the 13-week phase 2 shot trial, average weight change ranged from −9.1% at 2.5 mg to −14.7% at 15 mg. Placebo was −1.7%. Two phase 3 shot trials are active, but neither has results.

VK2735 research and regulatory details: evidence quality, approval status, doses, handling, and presentation.
TopicValue
Strongest sourceHuman trial
FDA approvalNot FDA-approved
Studied dosing2.5–15 mg once weekly (13-week phase 2 injection arms: 2.5, 5, 10 or 15 mg) — from clinical trials
PresentationVK2735 has no approved vial or reconstitution instructions; the clinical program studies prepared injection and tablet formulations.

Every row links back to a source listed below. These facts are for reference, not a personal recommendation.

How VK2735 works

VK2735 acts at GIP + GLP-1. Here is what that means.

A dual agonist switches on the receptors for both hormones your gut releases after eating: GLP-1 and GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide). Both were first understood as insulin boosters, and combining them started out as a diabetes idea. The weight loss that followed was bigger than the GLP-1 half alone would explain, and researchers still do not agree on why.

◆ Receptor targets2 of 4 · GIP + GLP-1
4What each receptor does — 4 rows in the data table
Receptors targeted by VK2735, and what each receptor does
ReceptorVK2735What it does
GLP-1targetedInsulin release while blood sugar is rising, less glucagon, slower stomach emptying, and less appetite — the same physiology a single-target drug produces, carried here by the same molecule.
GIPtargetedpancreatic isletGIP is the other gut hormone, released higher up the small intestine. It boosts insulin alongside GLP-1, which is why the two together move blood sugar more than either does alone.adipose tissue and brainGIP receptors also sit on fat cells, where the hormone has a hand in how nutrients get stored and how blood moves through fat tissue, and in the brain regions handling appetite and nausea. What GIP actually contributes to weight loss is disputed — blocking the same receptor has also produced benefit in experiments.
Glucagonnot targeted—
Amylinnot targeted—

The same four receptor groups are shown for every drug, so the differences are easy to compare. Targets come from the drug class. Any result specific to VK2735 comes from the cited sources.

The honest summary: the two-receptor design has beaten single-target GLP-1 in trials, and the explanation is unfinished. One leading idea is that GIP signaling in the brain dampens the nausea that limits GLP-1 dosing, so a dual agonist can be pushed further before side effects stop it. That is a hypothesis, not a finding — any confident story about what GIP does is running ahead of the evidence.

What the evidence for VK2735 is

These numbers come from a study in people that was published in a peer-reviewed journal. The drug or dose may still be experimental and may not have FDA approval.

Human trial

The trial behind the numbers

13-week phase 2 VENTURE injection trial · 176 participants · 13 weeks

Bays HE et al. Weekly Subcutaneous VK2735 for Weight Management: Phase 2 VENTURE Study. Obesity 2026;34:537-549 (NCT06068946, PMID 41508550) · retrieved 2026-08-16

What it establishes
The study gave known doses to a defined group, monitored what happened and compared the results with another group.
What it does not establish
One trial cannot prove long-term safety or show that the result applies to everyone. The highest dose tested is a study dose, not a target for personal use.

Read each result with the study length, dose and number of participants. Results from separate trials are not a direct comparison because the people and study designs differ.

What each dose produced in the trial

These are the doses the trial gave and the weight change it reported for each one. It is a record of one experiment, not a schedule — no regulator has reviewed any of these doses.

◆ 13-week phase 2 VENTURE injection trial176 participants · 13 weeks

Average weight change from the start of the trial, by weekly dose · the dashed rule marks placebo

5Exact trial values — 5 rows in the data table
VK2735 — 13-week phase 2 VENTURE injection trial: average weight change from the start for each dose group
Once-weekly doseStudy groupAverage weight changeWhat the paper notes
2.5 mgActive−9.1%—
5 mgActive−10.9%—
10 mgActive−12.9%—
15 mgActive−14.7%—
PlaceboControl−1.7%The group used to compare every active dose

What the source does not report for each dose group

These are mean changes at week 13 in adults without diabetes. The trial was short and dose-finding; it does not establish a long-term result or an approved dosing schedule.

Source: Bays HE et al. Weekly Subcutaneous VK2735 for Weight Management: Phase 2 VENTURE Study. Obesity 2026;34:537-549 (NCT06068946, PMID 41508550) · retrieved 2026-08-16 · every value is quoted from that paper. Trial results describe averages across a study population, not an individual outcome.

Some bars are missing on purpose. Where the paper gives a range across arms instead of a figure per arm, that arm is left unplotted rather than filled in with a guess. The dashed line marks the placebo arm, so the part of each bar past it is the part the trial puts down to the drug rather than to being in a study.

How the trial reached those doses, step by step →

Where VK2735 is in clinical trials

5 registered studies; the program has reached phase 3. Studies are running, but none is taking new participants.

The soonest a running study expects to finish measuring people is July 2027. That is when the sponsor expects to finish collecting the main measurement. It is not a results date, and not a date anything goes on sale.

  • Phase 3Running, closed to new participants

    VK2735 for Weight Management Type 2 Diabetes Phase 3 (VANQUISH 2)

    Viking Therapeutics, Inc. · Weight Loss · 1,100 participants planned · started June 2025

    Main measurement due July 2027 (sponsor estimate)

    NCT07104383 on ClinicalTrials.gov

  • Phase 3Running, closed to new participants

    VK2735 for Weight Management Phase 3

    Viking Therapeutics, Inc. · Weight Loss · 4,500 participants planned · started June 2025

    Main measurement due July 2027 (sponsor estimate)

    NCT07104500 on ClinicalTrials.gov

  • Phase 2Completed

    VK2735 for Weight Management Phase 2 (Venture Oral Dosing)

    Viking Therapeutics, Inc. · Weight Loss · 280 participants · started December 2024

    Main measurement due June 2025

    NCT06828055 on ClinicalTrials.gov

A registered study means a sponsor filed a plan and started enrolling. It is not evidence the drug works, and most drugs tested in people never reach a pharmacy. Sponsors write and update these sources themselves; the National Library of Medicine publishes them without checking them.

ClinicalTrials.gov · retrieved 2026-08-23

Every compound we track, and what stage each one has reached →

Regulatory status

VK2735 is not FDA-approved and has no prescribing label.

The published numbers are from a short dose-finding trial, not an approved schedule. Its tablet and injection programs use different doses and must not be read as one regimen.

Full regulatory tracker →

Where to go next on VK2735

The schedule, the side effects and the mixing math each have their own page.

VK2735 dosing evidence, without an approved schedule

1 published VK2735 dose value, each linked to the original source.

Which VK2735 reactions warrant medical attention

No boxed warning applies to VK2735, which reflects the review it has not had.

Every calculator on this site, VK2735 and the rest

Every intermediate value is printed, for VK2735 or any other vial.

Where VK2735 sits among the weight loss compounds

15 compounds people take for weight loss, and what each was measured against, with VK2735 as one example

What the pemvidutide page carries, separate from VK2735

5 sourced pemvidutide reactions, on its own page, separate from VK2735.

Survodutide on its own page, separate from VK2735

Survodutide has published human trial data, separate from VK2735.

Mazdutide in the full list, alongside VK2735

No published half-life for mazdutide, cited apart from VK2735.

The source-checked cagrilintide entry, beyond the VK2735 one

No regulator has approved cagrilintide — beyond VK2735.

Zenagamtide in the full list, alongside VK2735

No published half-life for zenagamtide, cited apart from VK2735.

What the liraglutide page carries, separate from VK2735

10 sourced liraglutide reactions, on its own page, separate from VK2735.

Safety notes

  • Investigational compound — no approved dose or prescribing label exists
  • The completed injection study lasted 13 weeks; the 78-week phase 3 trials have no result yet
  • Oral and injected VK2735 use different doses and are not interchangeable

Questions about VK2735

Is VK2735 FDA-approved?

No. There is no prescribing label for it, so no approved dose exists — the regulatory status section above has the detail.

How is VK2735 taken?

By injection under the skin, once a week. The dosing page has every step, with the source on each row.

How does VK2735 differ from the other compounds in this class?

It acts at GIP + GLP-1. The nearest alternatives act elsewhere: Semaglutide (GLP-1 alone), Liraglutide (GLP-1 alone), Retatrutide (GIP + GLP-1 + glucagon), Cagrilintide (amylin), Survodutide (glucagon + GLP-1), Mazdutide (glucagon + GLP-1), Zenagamtide (GLP-1 + amylin), Pemvidutide (glucagon + GLP-1). Adding or removing a receptor changes both the effect and how much of it people can tolerate, so these molecules are not swappable at the same number of milligrams. Comparing them milligram for milligram is the most common mistake in this category.

What is not known about VK2735?

One trial cannot prove long-term safety or show that the result applies to everyone. The highest dose tested is a study dose, not a target for personal use.

For this compound specifically: These are mean changes at week 13 in adults without diabetes. The trial was short and dose-finding; it does not establish a long-term result or an approved dosing schedule.

Is there a VK2735 dosing schedule on this site?

Not a schedule — there is no approved schedule to publish here. What you get instead is the trial dosing program: the doses each arm received and how the protocol worked up to them. The studied range was 2.5–15 mg once a week. See what the trials tested.

5primary sources, each with the day we read it — open the documents used on this page