H.C. Wainwright analyst Joseph Pantginis notes that Merck (MRK) and Hansoh Pharmaceutical entered into a global license agreement granting Merck exclusive rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize Hansoh’s investigational preclinical oral small molecule GLP-1 receptor agonist, HS-10535. Shares of Viking Therapeutics (VKTX) are down this morning following this announcement, which the firm believes is due to increased investor scrutiny on how Merck’s move could shift the competitive landscape in the GLP-1 field. Wainwright believes the news only reinforces the likelihood of business development opportunities for Viking’s own GLP-1 agonist programs, particularly VK2735, which has already shown promising clinical data. The firm has a Buy rating on the shares with a price target of $102.
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