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Specialty pharmacies and online companies that have been selling off-brand copies of two blockbuster drugs for obesity and diabetes will need to phase out their versions next year under a federal decision issued Thursday.

The Food and Drug Administration said that a nationwide shortage of Eli Lillys Zepbound and Mounjaro has been resolved, eliminating the need for copycat versions of the drugs that have become wildly popular with Americans trying to lose weight.

The decision is a win for Lilly which had been pressing the FDA to take the step for months and is expected to impact how patients access the drugs, including how much they pay.

Zepbound is FDA-approved to treat obesity and Mounjaro is approved for diabetes.

They use the same active ingredient, tirzepatide.

The FDA said Thursday that Lillys supply is currently meeting or exceeding demand, after two years of shortages.

Both drugs are part of the GLP-1 class that has shown unprecedented results for helping people shed weight by decreasing appetite and boosting feelings of fullness.

Wegovy and Ozempic competing drugs from Novo Nordisk remain on the FDAs shortage list.

With demand for GLP-1 drugs booming, compounding pharmacies and telehealth companies like Hims and Ro have jumped into the market, selling cheaper versions online.

People can usually get a months supply for several hundred dollars.

Thursdays decision gives businesses between 60 and 90 days, depending on their size, to phase out their products.

The FDA permits compounded versions of brand name drugs when they are in shortage, and the shift back to Lillys medications could improve safety for consumers.

The FDA warned patients last year about problems with the ingredients and formulations of some GLP-1 drugs sold online.

The agency has limited oversight of compounding pharmacies, which are primarily overseen by state authorities.

Compounding pharmacies use raw drug ingredients to produce customized versions of prescription medications for instance, when patients have allergies to certain ingredients.

The industry has grown into a multibillion-dollar business over the past decade amid increasing drug shortages.

Demand for off-brand GLP-1 drugs has been amplified by aggressive online promotions from telehealth companies, which arent subject to the same marketing rules as drugmakers.

The FDA previously declared an end to the shortage of Mounjaro and Zepbound in early October, but reversed its decision after public pushback and a lawsuit filed by compounding pharmacies.

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Technology

Super Micro plans to ramp up manufacturing in Europe to capitalize on AI demand

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Super Micro plans to ramp up manufacturing in Europe to capitalize on AI demand

CEO of Supermicro Charles Liang speaks during the Reuters NEXT conference in New York City, U.S., December 10, 2024. 

Mike Segar | Reuters

PARIS — Super Micro plans to increase its investment in Europe, including ramping up manufacturing of its AI servers in the region, CEO Charles Liang told CNBC in an interview that aired on Wednesday.

The company sells servers which are packed with Nvidia chips and are key for training and implementing huge AI models. It has manufacturing facilities in the Netherlands, but could expand to other places.

“But because the demand in Europe is growing very fast, so I already decided, indeed, [there’s] already a plan to invest more in Europe, including manufacturing,” Liang told CNBC at the Raise Summit in Paris, France.

“The demand is global, and the demand will continue to improve in [the] next many years,” Liang added.

Liang’s comments come less than a month after Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang visited various parts of Europe, signing infrastructure deals and urging the region to ramp up its computing capacity.

Growth to be ‘strong’

Super Micro rode the growth wave after OpenAI’s ChatGPT boom boosted demand for Nvidia’s chips, which underpin big AI models. The server maker’s stock hit a record high in March 2024. However, the stock is around 60% off that all-time high over concerns about its accounting and financial reporting. But the company in February filed its delayed financial report for its 2024 fiscal year, assuaging those fears.

In May, the company reported weaker-than-expected guidance for the current quarter, raising concerns about demand for its product.

However, Liang dismissed those fears. “Our growth rate continues to be strong, because we continue to grow our fundamental technology, and we [are] also expanding our business scope,” Liang said.

“So the room … to grow will be still very tremendous, very big.”

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Politics

US sanctions North Korean tech worker crew over crypto thefts

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US sanctions North Korean tech worker crew over crypto thefts

US sanctions North Korean tech worker crew over crypto thefts

TRM Labs said North Korea is moving away from hacks to focus more on deception-based revenue generation, such as planting IT workers in US companies.

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Environment

China overhauls EV charging: 100,000 ultra-fast public stations by 2027

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China overhauls EV charging: 100,000 ultra-fast public stations by 2027

China just laid out a plan to roll out over 100,000 ultra-fast EV charging stations by 2027 – and they’ll all be open to the public.

The National Development and Reform Commission’s (NDRC) joint notice, issued on Monday, asks local authorities to put together construction plans for highway service areas and prioritize the ones that see 40% or more usage during holiday travel rushes.

The NDRC notes that China’s ultra-fast EV charging infrastructure needs upgrading as more 800V EVs hit the road. Those high-voltage platforms can handle super-fast charging in as little as 10 to 30 minutes, but only if the charging hardware is up to speed.

China had 31.4 million EVs on the road at the end of 2024 – nearly 9% of the country’s total vehicle fleet. But charging access is still catching up. As of May 2025, there were 14.4 million charging points, or roughly 1 for every 2.2 EVs.

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To keep the grid running smoothly, China wants new chargers to be smart, with dynamic pricing to incentivize off-peak charging and solar and storage to power the charging stations.

To make the business side work, the government is pushing for 10-year leases for charging station operators, and it’s backing the buildout with local government bonds.

The NDRC emphasized that the DC fast chargers built will be open to the public. This is a big deal because a lot of fast chargers in China aren’t. For example, BYD’s new megawatt chargers aren’t open to third-party vehicles.

As of September 2024, China had expanded its charging infrastructure to 11.4 million EV chargers, but only 3.3 million were public.

Read more: California now has nearly 50% more EV chargers than gas nozzles


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