Ownership Submission
FORM 3
 UNITED STATES SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

INITIAL STATEMENT OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP OF SECURITIES

Filed pursuant to Section 16(a) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, Section 17(a) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 or Section 30(h) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
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(Print or Type Responses)
1. Name and Address of Reporting Person *
  LIGAND PHARMACEUTICALS INC
 2. Date of Event Requiring Statement (Month/Day/Year)
05/04/2015		 3. Issuer Name and Ticker or Trading Symbol
Viking Therapeutics, Inc. [VKTX]
(Last)
(First)
(Middle)
11119 NORTH TORREY PINES ROAD, SUITE 200		 4. Relationship of Reporting Person(s) to Issuer
(Check all applicable)
_____ Director __X__ 10% Owner
_____ Officer (give title below) _____ Other (specify below)
5. If Amendment, Date Original Filed(Month/Day/Year)
(Street)

LA JOLLA, CA 92037		 6. Individual or Joint/Group Filing(Check Applicable Line)
_X_ Form filed by One Reporting Person
___ Form filed by More than One Reporting Person
(City)
(State)
(Zip)
Table I - Non-Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned
1.Title of Security
(Instr. 4)		 2. Amount of Securities Beneficially Owned
(Instr. 4)		 3. Ownership Form: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)		 4. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Common Stock 4,552,859
D (1)
 

Reminder: Report on a separate line for each class of securities beneficially owned directly or indirectly. SEC 1473 (7-02)
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Table II - Derivative Securities Beneficially Owned (e.g., puts, calls, warrants, options, convertible securities)
1. Title of Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)		 2. Date Exercisable and Expiration Date
(Month/Day/Year)		 3. Title and Amount of Securities Underlying Derivative Security
(Instr. 4)		 4. Conversion or Exercise Price of Derivative Security 5. Ownership Form of Derivative Security: Direct (D) or Indirect (I)
(Instr. 5)		 6. Nature of Indirect Beneficial Ownership
(Instr. 5)
Date Exercisable Expiration Date Title Amount or Number of Shares
Convertible Note (convertible into common stock) 05/04/2016   (2) Common Stock $ 2,500,000 (3) $ 8 D  

Reporting Owners

Reporting Owner Name / Address Relationships
Director 10% Owner Officer Other
LIGAND PHARMACEUTICALS INC
11119 NORTH TORREY PINES ROAD, SUITE 200
LA JOLLA, CA 92037		     X    

Signatures

/s/ Charles Berkman, Vice President and Secretary 05/07/2015
**Signature of Reporting Person Date

Explanation of Responses:

* If the form is filed by more than one reporting person, see Instruction 5(b)(v).
** Intentional misstatements or omissions of facts constitute Federal Criminal Violations. See 18 U.S.C. 1001 and 15 U.S.C. 78ff(a).
(1) 827,414 shares are held by Metabasis Therapeutics, Inc. ("Metabasis"), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ligand Pharmaceuticals Incorporated ("Ligand").
(2) The maturity date of the Convertible Note is May 21, 2016, subject to extension by Ligand in certain circumstances.
(3) Represents the aggregate principal amount outstanding under the Convertible Note. The Convertible Note is convertible into the number of shares of Common Stock equal to 200% of the principal amount plus accrued and previously unpaid interest thereon at the rate of 5% per annum. As of May 4, 2015, the Convertible Note would convert into 650,425 shares of Common Stock, which represents an aggregate value of $5,203,403 at the conversion price.

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