Boehringer moves new kind of triple agonist into mid-stage obesity testingUS lawmakers want the FTC to look into foreign money in the drug supply chainDrug shortages continue to tick upBoehringer moves new kind of triple agonist into mid-stage obesity testingBoehringer Ingelheim started a Phase II obesity trial on Thursday of BI 3034701, a triple agonist developed by partner Gubra — though with a slightly different mechanism of action than Eli Lilly's GLP-1/GIP/glucagon-targeting "triple G" agonist, retatrutide. Like retatrutide, BI 3034701 agonises GLP-1 and GIP, but instead of glucagon, it activates neuropeptide Y2 (NPY2), which is thought to modulate central hunger signalling, according to Boehringer. The candidate's advancement was prompted by Phase I findings, which demonstrated a "generally favourable safety and tolerability profile" for BI 3034701. "We expect obesity care to become much more differentiated, and with BI 3034701, we aim to go beyond short-term weight loss and address both the biological and behavioural drivers of obesity," said Shashank Deshpande, chairman of the board of managing directors and Boehringer's head of human pharma.US lawmakers want the FTC to look into foreign money in the drug supply chainSenators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.), both a part of the Senate Special Committee on Aging, have introduced a bill that would have the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the Department of Treasury investigate foreign investments in pharmaceutical manufacturing capacity and supply chains. "America has let the Chinese Communist Party and other foreign entities quietly buy their way into our drug supply for too long, and it needs to end," Scott said in a release. According to the senators, about 80% of active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) and close to 100% of the raw materials used to make generic drugs in the US are shipped in from other countries, making the supply chain vulnerable to disruptions. The Pharmaceutical Investment Oversight and Accountability Act would require the FTC to look into, and report to Congress, the US's reliance on foreign manufacturing, the impact of foreign investment on domestic production, and the effect of relocating US manufacturing facilities to foreign countries. Drug shortages continue to tick upThe American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) released a report this week that found there were 227 active drug shortages at the end of the second quarter of 2026. Shortages have been steadily rising since the fourth quarter of 2025, when there were 216 cases at the end of the period.According to ASHP, 48% of all new shortages this year are sole-source products, meaning that it's made by only one manufacturer. Hit particularly hard were chemotherapies, with ifosfamide in a "severe" shortage this quarter due to manufacturing quality problems. The ASHP also noted that 16% of shortages were controlled substances.