It was learned from Zhitong Finance and Economics that the competition to develop oral weight loss drugs is heating up. Popular GLP-1 injection weight loss drug manufacturers, the "two giants" Eli Lilly (LLYUS) and Novo Nordisk (NVO.US), as well as potential new entrants Pfizer(PFE.US) and Roche are all competing. Due to the disadvantages of injections, GLP-1 oral medications have become a hot target in the anti-obesity field. However, Oppenheimer has a broader view, stating in a research report on Wednesday that transitioning to the over-the-counter sector may provide an additional advantage.

Oppenheimer analyst Jay Olson believes: "In the highly competitive obesity sector, the prescription to over-the-counter (Rx-to-OTC) conversion may be a highly differentiated and valuable lifecycle management strategy that can protect a significant amount of brand assets after patent expiration."

Before making the above statement, Danish pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk announced on Friday that concerns about neuropsychiatric side effects were raised in an interim study of its cannabinoid receptor-targeted weight loss pills, leading to a sell-off of the company's stock.

However, Olson ruled out safety issues with GLP-1 and predicted that the future oral GLP-1 will transition from prescription to over-the-counter, attributing the current approved Black Box Warning to pancreatitis associated with first-generation GLP-1s like exenatide rather than the new generation GLP-1.

Oppenheimer points out that Viking Therapeutics's oral weight loss candidate drug VK2735 is the best candidate for over-the-counter drugs. The dual agonists of intestinal hormone receptors GLP-1 and GIP will announce early studies at the Obesity Week in early November.

Olson wrote: "Based on existing clinical data, we believe that oral VK2735 is a potential candidate for over-the-counter drugs and look forward to updates at Obesity Week." The analyst has a shareholding rating and a 12-18 month target price of $138 per share for the stock.