3. Obesity drug race heats up
Eli Lilly may be on the verge of changing the weight-loss game. The pharma giant released results from a mid-stage trial for its experimental drug retatrutide, and the findings were eye-opening. On average, patients lost more than 17% of their weight, or about 41 pounds, after 24 weeks. After 48 weeks, those numbers jumped to 24%, or 58 pounds. That would likely make the Lilly drug the most effective obesity drug yet, according to experts. And, according to the researchers, there’s no indication those results would plateau after 48 weeks, immediately triggering curiosity about a longer trial. Eli Lilly is recruiting for a Phase 3 study now.
4. Lordstown’s last legs
The saga of Lordstown Motors has taken its ugliest turn yet. The electric vehicle startup, created as the result of national and local political pressure during the Trump administration, filed for bankruptcy protection early Tuesday morning. It also sued Apple iPhone maker Foxconn, which had invested in Lordstown. The struggling EV maker accused Taiwan-based Foxconn in its suit of fraudulent activity, alleging that it failed to live up to promises to invest up to $170 million in the auto company. Lordstown, which makes the Endurance pickup at its Ohio factory, also put itself up for sale.
5. Putin speaks
Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday spoke for the first time since the Wagner mercenary group abandoned its short-lived rebellion over the weekend. He sounded and looked angry as he condemned the mutineers as “criminals” and vowed to bring the planners to justice. It was unclear what he meant by that, given that Wagner leader Yevgeny Prigozhin, a previous longtime Putin ally, had already accepted exile to Belarus. Putin’s regime has clearly lost credibility on the world stage, given his military’s quagmire in Ukraine and the weekend uprising. His address, delivered late at night in Moscow time, doesn’t appear likely to help his standing. Follow live war updates.
— CNBC’s Mike Calia wrote this newsletter. Alex Harring, Jordan Novet, Annika Kim Constantino, Christina Wilkie and Elliot Smith contributed.
— Follow Squawk Pod for the best conversations and analysis from Squawk Box in a curated, daily podcast.
