Viking Therapeutics Taps Hubert Chen as Chief Medical Officer

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Viking Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, is bringing on Hubert C. Chen, MD, as its new Chief Medical Officer. Most recently, Chen was Chief R&D Officer at Loyal Animal Health, leading FDA-negotiated effectiveness and safety requirements for longevity therapeutics.

Viking Concentrating on Novel Therapies

Meanwhile, Viking focuses primarily on the development of novel therapies for metabolic and endocrine disorders. There, Chen will report to President and CEO Brian Lian, PhD, overseeing clinical development, and also medical and regulatory affairs.

Chen is currently an affiliate faculty member at the University of California, San Diego. Prior to Loyal Animal Health, he was President and Chief Scientific Officer at Forte Biosciences. Before that, Chen was Chief Medical Officer at Metacrine, and Chief Scientific and Medical Officer at Pfenex.

His experience at Pfenex included United States and European Union approvals for Bonsity, a drug-device combination for high-risk osteoporosis. For this program, Chen developed novel clinical and regulatory strategies.

Earlier on, Chen led obesity and type 2 diabetes programs at Amylin Pharmaceuticals. Overall, he has more than two decades of leadership experience in drug discovery, clinical development, regulatory strategy, and product approvals.

Chief Medical Officer Speaks

“Joining the Viking team at this exciting time of growth is an incredible opportunity,” Chen said. “Obesity and metabolic disorders are among the most significant health challenges of our time, affecting every aspect of long-term health … Viking’s scientific rigor and innovation have enabled the company to become a leader in this field, with a strong pipeline.”

In welcoming Chen, Lian mentioned the progress of, among other projects, Viking’s clinical program VK2735. This is a novel dual agonist of the glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptors. Viking hopes it can potentially be used to treat various metabolic disorders.

“With multiple clinical programs advancing, this is a critical time to expand Viking’s leadership team,” Lian said. “Hubert’s proven track record and history of developing innovative therapies make him an excellent addition to the team.”