Eli Lilly is suing the FDA to classify retatrutide as a biologic. Retatrutide's main chain has 39 alpha amino acids. Lilly makes it with solid-phase synthesis, the standard chemistry for peptide drugs. Under FDA law, a biologic has more than 40 amino acids. Above 40, solid-phase synthesis yield collapses. Each coupling cycle runs at 99% efficiency, and that compounds over the chain. After 40 cycles, 67% of the target remains. The rest is deletion impurities you can't separate out. Past that point, manufacturers switch from reactors to living cells, where ribosomes assemble proteins at 99.99% accuracy and proteasomes break down the defective ones. The FDA wrote its 2020 rule at 40 because that's where chemistry breaks. Retatrutide sits one residue below the line. That means 5 years of exclusivity instead of 12. Compounders can legally make copies during shortages. Medicare can negotiate the price in 9 years, not 13. Classifying it as a biologic would flip all three. We run both chemistry and fermentation in our plants to produce industrial chemicals. Those are the same two processes that make peptides and biologics. Lilly gave up a little on Zepbound to lock in a 12-year monopoly on retatrutide.
@chribreuer Is this not the case for everyone working normal jobs as well? Working at Jane Street is likely more gratifying than most jobs. This person can at least use his 40's to travel the world, and so on... I am quite certain that I myself, along with most plebs wont.
China produces ~80% of its urea from coal rather than (as most other nations do) natural gas. The method is insulating Beijing from rising nitrogen fertiliser prices.
I wrote ⤵️ this @Opinion column about the Chinese coal-to-chemicals industry last June. https://t.co/TQg6HHD3J8
We may have accidentally caused a global economic depression that will impoverish us and guarantee we will be at the mercy of our sworn political enemies in two years.
But at least we also radicalized Iran's regime, doubled their budget, and proved they need nukes immediately.
We’d be at war with Iran, directly, if Kamala Harris won in November.
Just think about what we avoided.
She would’ve already signed off on several strikes, and probably would’ve sent troops.
It would have been a nightmare.
Under the terms of our alliance, we're under no obligation to let you use our airspace for this stupidity, but honestly if you feel that way just leave. Stop talking about it and just get the fuck out.
You won't though because, as I explained in the past, the European alliance is a bargain for the US even if we refuse to help you destroying the world economy for no reason.
Everyone who understands how US power actually works knows that, even if you don't because you're a blabbering moron, but I don't even want to argue with Americans about that anymore.
It's just tiresome of listening to you complain that we don't pull our weight and threatening to leave us to fend for ourselves without ever doing it.
Right now you just sound like a woman who threatens to leave her husband every time he beats her up but always ends up staying. Just withdraw from NATO, pack up your shit and leave your bases in Europe.
We'll see how much you like it when you have to rely on dysfunctional third-world states for logistical support and have to say goodbye to European cooperation on things like export controls against China. But if you're not going to do it, just shut the fuck up.
@MarysRoommate Jones Act
Employer Health Insurance Tax Exclusion
NEPA
NLRA Wagner Act
FDA 1962 Kefauver Amendments
Davis-Bacon Act
CON Laws
US Sugar Program
Ethanol Mandate
Copyright Term Extension Act
this is just legislation not court rulings to overturn
@NotWoofers Syria is a very marginal producer. More interesting would be to extend transfer Infrastructure from Deir ez-Zor to the Kirkuk Basin (which is already serviced by a pipeline going through Turkey to the Mediterranean)
SKYLIGHT (9330020) wasn't passing through the Strait of Hormuz. She's been anchored in the Musandam governorate of Oman (north of UAE at 26.288021, 56.266388) since 2026-02-22. This small 11K DWT tanker, mostly used for fueling other tankers, has been blacklisted by the US since 2025-12-18. Iran specifically hit one of their own. Tehran's tanker theatrics on full display.
@SealOfTheEnd@akarlin This general argument of dependency can be applied to anything? Farming with a tractor vs farming with a horse. It's still better (in terms of production) to use tractors.
Given time, production methods diffuse and dependencies are worked around.