Better Health for All

Viking Therapeutics' core business is developing novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders, including obesity, NASH/MASH, and X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD).

Clinical trials for VK2735 showed up to 14.7% mean weight loss for injectable and 12.2% for oral formulations at 13 weeks, while VK2809 demonstrated up to 51.7% liver-fat reduction and statistically significant fibrosis improvement. The company's R&D expenses were $90.0 million for Q3 2025, up from $22.8 million in Q3 2024, and $191.5 million for the nine months ended September 30, 2025, compared to $70.7 million for the same period in 2024. This represents a significant portion of their overall expenses. However, the FDA identified potential noncompliance regarding clinical trial NCT02578095, specifically failure to submit results information and update registration, which could lead to civil monetary penalties. The highest dose arm of oral VK2735 showed a 38% discontinuation rate, driven primarily by nausea and vomiting, and overall discontinuation rates in treatment groups were 28% versus 18% for placebo. Viking holds composition-of-matter patents for VK2735 that extend into the 2042-2045 timeframe. The company plans to make presentations at scientific conferences in Q4 2025 and Q1 2026. The VANQUISH-2 study will target enrollment of approximately 1,100 adults with obesity or overweight and type 2 diabetes, and VK0214 is being developed for X-ALD.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

In 2024, the CEO to median employee pay ratio was 33:1, with the CEO's total compensation at $14,298,554 and the median employee pay at $427,777.

Employee satisfaction is indicated by an average Glassdoor rating of 3.8 out of 5 stars, and 64% of employees would recommend working at the company. There are no mentions of regulatory actions, violations, fines, or compliance issues.

Honest & Fair Business

Viking Therapeutics, Inc. has an ESG controversy score of 38.7, which Sustainalytics rates as 'High' and ranks the company 753 out of 847 in its industry.

The company's Code of Conduct and Ethics outlines procedures for reporting suspected violations, including a compliance hotline and email address, but does not provide evidence of independent investigation processes.

Kind to Animals

Viking Therapeutics conducts preclinical trials using animal models, including rats and mice, to assess the efficacy of its drug candidates such as VK2809 and dual amylin and calcitonin receptor agonists.

These studies involve evaluating effects like body weight reductions and liver triglyceride content. However, the provided articles do not disclose the specific number of animals used in these trials, nor do they provide any information regarding the company's animal testing policy, the use of alternative testing methods, or investment in animal-free technologies.

No War, No Weapons

No specific, concrete evidence was found in the provided articles to assess Viking Therapeutics, Inc. against any of the 'No War, No Weapons' KPIs. The company's core business is described as a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, which typically does not involve activities related to arms, defense, or military contracts. The only article relevant to Viking Therapeutics, Inc. () contained policy statements regarding compliance with U.S. Embargoes and a ban on employees carrying weapons, but these do not provide the specific quantitative or qualitative evidence required by the rubric's KPIs, such as actual sales volumes, divestment percentages, or audit results related to military activities or dual-use technologies.

was disregarded as it pertained to a different company (Integer).

Planet-Friendly Business

No data on planet-friendly business metrics, such as emissions, renewable energy, water use, waste diversion, or climate-related initiatives, is provided in the available articles for Viking Therapeutics, Inc.

The financial profile explicitly states a lack of such data.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

The provided articles contain no specific, concrete data points regarding Viking Therapeutics' respect for cultures and communities.

There is no information available on formal partnerships, community reinvestment, cultural appropriation incidents, impact assessment protocols, local employment, grievance mechanisms, or any other social responsibility factors related to community and cultural engagement.

Safe & Smart Tech

A data breach affecting vikingtherapeutics.com was reported on December 19, 2023, by ALPHV, but the leak size is unknown.

An employee complaint alleges failure to report a material cybersecurity incident involving patient data within the stipulated timeframe, potentially violating the SEC's new cybersecurity reporting rule effective December 18, 2023. However, the breach and employee claims lack confirmation. The company's privacy policy was last updated in December 2018 and lacks specific details on data breach response, cybersecurity investment, privacy certifications, encryption methods, or data minimization practices. While vulnerability assessments and cybersecurity threat intelligence are used, and regular mandatory training for employees on cybersecurity threats is mentioned, no quantitative metrics or specific details are provided for these areas.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

No specific, quantitative data points related to waste management, product recyclability, packaging sustainability, or other zero-waste and sustainable product metrics for Viking Therapeutics, Inc. were found in the provided articles.

While some articles mention 'Waste' as a negative impact category for the company within an overall ESG or net impact assessment, they do not provide concrete figures such as waste diversion rates, reduction percentages, or details on specific initiatives or certifications. The quantitative values provided in these articles are abstract impact scores, not directly mappable to the defined KPIs.