Obesity Drug Market Sees Investment Activity and Regulatory Developments Across Multiple Regions

According to an SEC filing dated February 17, 2026, ACT Capital Management established a new position in Viking Therapeutics, adding 206,100 shares. The position's value at quarter-end stood at $7.25 million, representing 5.86% of the fund's reportable assets under management as of December 31, 2025.

Viking Therapeutics is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company based in San Diego, California, specializing in the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. Its lead candidate, VK2735, targets the same GLP-1 and GIP hormone pathways that have powered blockbuster drugs from larger pharmaceutical companies. In a Phase 2 study, patients taking VK2735 achieved average weight reductions of up to 14.7% after 13 weeks of treatment.

The company is now advancing multiple clinical programs, including Phase 3 trials for a subcutaneous version of VK2735 while also preparing an oral version for Phase 3 development. Viking ended 2025 with roughly $706 million in cash and reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $157.7 million. As of Monday, shares of Viking Therapeutics were priced at $36.07, up 177% over the past year. The company has a market capitalization of $4.2 billion.

India's Central Drugs Standard Control Organization, in an advisory dated Tuesday, said any advertisement that exaggerates therapeutic efficacy, guaranteeing weight-loss outcomes, downplaying lifestyle changes or inducing demand for drug therapy, could amount to misleading promotion, and merit regulatory action. The advisory reaffirmed India's existing drug rules that prohibit advertising of prescription-only medicines to the public.

Promotional activities, including what it described as "so-called (obesity) awareness campaigns" that function as surrogate advertisements for prescription drugs, could be treated as misleading marketing practices, according to the advisory, which was uploaded to the regulator's website on March 11. The advisory said promotional activity under the pretext of disease awareness, influencer engagement or corporate branding that creates brand recall or visibility for a prescription product would be treated as a violation.

The move comes as global drugmakers Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk, which launched their obesity drugs in India last year, are scrambling to cement their lead in the domestic market. Both companies have increased outreach to doctors and run aggressive campaigns highlighting obesity as a disease in public spaces including airports, and on several digital platforms including entertainment channels and social media as well as through newspaper ads. Lilly has also collaborated with Bollywood actors in a social media campaign focused on obesity awareness.

India is projected to have the world's second-largest overweight or obese population by 2050 in absolute terms, according to global health estimates. Domestic drugmakers are also preparing to launch cheaper versions of Novo Nordisk's obesity drug once the patent on its active ingredient, semaglutide, expires in India later in March.

In South Korea, major companies such as Hanmi Pharmaceutical and HK inno.N have completed or are conducting phase 3 clinical trials for their obesity treatments. They plan to obtain product approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety and commence commercialization within this year.

Hanmi Pharmaceutical recently announced that it has completed phase 3 clinical trials in South Korea for its GLP-1 receptor agonist efpeglenatide and secured topline results. The company has also applied for product approval from the Ministry of Food and Drug Safety. Hanmi's efpeglenatide is a once-weekly injectable formulation designed for Korean obesity patients, who generally have lower body mass index compared to Westerners. According to the company, it has fewer side effects such as nausea compared to foreign competitors' obesity treatments like Wegovy and Mounjaro.

Hanmi is also developing another next-generation obesity treatment, HM15275, aimed at the global market. It is a triple-acting treatment that simultaneously targets GLP-1, GIP, and glucagon receptors. The company stated, "We aim to surpass the effects of gastric resection surgery by demonstrating a weight loss effect of 25% or more." It is currently conducting phase 2 clinical trials in the U.S., with a goal to complete them by the first half of 2027.

The company is also developing HM17321, a treatment targeting CRF2 receptors to inhibit muscle breakdown and promote fat decomposition, aiming to reduce weight without muscle loss. Additionally, an oral obesity drug HM101460 is under development. It applies a 'G-protein-biased activation mechanism' that strongly activates one protein receptor and weakly activates another.

HK inno.N is conducting phase 3 clinical trials in South Korea for its obesity treatment candidate IN-B00009. The drug was developed through technology introduced in 2024 from the Chinese bioscience company Caiwind Bioscience. The company plans to apply for product and sales approval within this year.

Ildong Pharmaceutical is accelerating the development of a once-daily oral obesity drug. The candidate substance, ID110521156, belongs to the GLP-1 class of oral new drugs. The company aims to achieve technology exports and enter phase 2 clinical trials this year. After administering the drug to patients for four weeks, weight decreased by up to 13.8%. Side effects such as gastrointestinal discomfort were not severe, and the drug demonstrated suitable absorption and sustained characteristics for once-daily dosing.