Viking Therapeutics, a biotech developing treatments for diabetes and other metabolic and endocrine disorders, filed on Tuesday with the SEC to raise up to $58 million in an initial public offering. The company has five drug candidates based on small molecules licensed from Ligand Pharmaceuticals.
Viking's lead candidate is an oral treatment entering Phase 2b trials for type 2 diabetes. Its second clinical program is entering Phase 2 trials for cancer cachexia. Primary shareholders include founder and CEO Brian Lian (61% pre-IPO stake) and COO Michael Dinerman (26%).
The San Diego, CA-based company, which was founded in 2012, plans to list on the NASDAQ under the symbol VKTX. Oppenheimer and Roth Capital are the joint bookrunners on the deal. No pricing terms were disclosed.
