![Shots in the Dark](https://cdn.magzter.com/1450523597/1717493833/articles/awsOJ7JR21717501181460/SHOTS-IN-THE-DARK.jpg)
IN EARLY DECEMBER, James Pinckney II, MD, stood in a cold warehouse in Elmira, New York, surveying what looked like the deal of the century.
Pallets of blue coolers stretched before him, each packed with boxes bearing the logo of Danish drugmaker Novo Nordisk: an Egyptian Apis bull, representing strength and fertility, balancing the sun between its horns.
Until recently, Novo Nordisk was a sleepy century-old insulin manufacturer. But in the past two years, its diabetes treatment Ozempic has swept the world. After a clinical trial confirmed that the drug, first approved by the US Food and Drug Administration in 2017, produces miraculous weight loss, influencers from Elon Musk to Oprah helped popularize it.
The drug has brought new hope to those struggling with obesity and made Novo Nordisk Europe’s most valuable company even as it tore open a Pandora’s box of human vanity. The frenzy surrounding it has sparked global shortages.
Pinckney, an ebullient family medicine doctor married to a former Sports Illustrated swimsuit model, is the founder and CEO of Diamond Health, a concierge medical practice in Dallas. His quest for affordable Ozempic had brought him to the warehouse of F.M. Howell & Company, a midsize pharmaceutical distributor founded in 1883.
Snapping photos, Pinckney closely examined the shrink-wrapped boxes of Ozempic, each containing a single fourdose pen of injectable semaglutide, the peptide developed by Novo Nordisk that increases the body’s insulin production, slows digestion, and decreases appetite.
Pinckney left favorably impressed with the potential windfall. Here was a reputable wholesaler with thousands of Ozempic pens at a relatively affordable price.
Denne historien er fra June 2024-utgaven av Vanity Fair US.
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Denne historien er fra June 2024-utgaven av Vanity Fair US.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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![SETTING THE STAGE](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/12190/1797068/xR7QW6AEP1723636208116/SETTING-THE-STAGE.jpg)
SETTING THE STAGE
Before they conquered Hollywood, George Segal, Peter Falk, Roy Scheider, and Wayne Rogers were some of the finest-though perhaps not the finest-stage actors in New York. WAYNE LAWSON, who knew them when, revisits a golden era that revolutionized American theater
![HOPE AND CHANGE?](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/12190/1797068/SudHCZ8AB1723633705589/HOPE-AND-CHANGE.jpg)
HOPE AND CHANGE?
As the threat of another Trump presidency looms, AMERICA TURNS ITS EYES TO THE OBAMAS, who remain two of the most important politicians in the world-whether they like it or not
![The Natural](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/12190/1797068/ge2dPFme81723633520767/THE-NATURAL.jpg)
The Natural
Comedy, singing, scandal, attempted murder: Meghann Fahy, the breakout star of The White Lotus and now The Perfect Couple, can do it all
![FULL-COURT PRESS](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/12190/1797068/IT716eL3c1723632824312/FULLCOURT-PRESS.jpg)
FULL-COURT PRESS
Microsoft made him one of the richest men alive. Now STEVE BALLMER is chasing one of the few prizes money (alone) can't buy: an NBA championship for his team, the Los Angeles Clippers, whose staggeringly expensive state-of-the-art arena opens this summer
![THE TWISTED LOVE STORY OF JOSE AND LADDY BETTY](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/12190/1797068/H6LRKleX81723630265929/THE-TWISTED-LOVE-STORY-OF-JOSE-AND-LADDY-BETTY.jpg)
THE TWISTED LOVE STORY OF JOSE AND LADDY BETTY
A 95-year-old diamond heiress and her much younger genderfluid spouse became social media stars. Was theirs a feelgood romance for the agesor something far darker?
![CONSIDER](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/12190/1797068/WrddxBlmz1723628820092/CONSIDER.jpg)
CONSIDER
NO ONE KNOWS CANDIDATE ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR.'S PROBLEMATIC HISTORY BETTER THAN HIS FAMILY. JOE HAGAN TALKS TO THAT RELUCTANT INNER CIRCLE ABOUT KENNEDY'S PAST AND THE STAKES FOR AMERICA'S FUTURE
![Paris When It Sizzled](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/12190/1797068/u0_BtJlRh1723628582430/PARIS-WHEN-IT-SIZZLED.jpg)
Paris When It Sizzled
IN 1973, FIVE AMERICAN DESIGNERS AND 36 MODELS DESCENDED ON THE CITY OF LIGHT FOR WHAT WOULD BECOME AN ERA-DEFINING FASHION SHOW-AND WITH THEM WAS PHOTOGRAPHER BILL CUNNINGHAM. HERE, AN EXCLUSIVE LOOK AT HIS TREASURE TROVE OF LARGELY UNSEEN PHOTOS, PUBLISHED TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME
![JENNA ORTEGA'S YEAR OF WONDER](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/12190/1797068/Bm5G2gY8z1723627347039/JENNA-ORTEGAS-YEAR-OF-WONDER.jpg)
JENNA ORTEGA'S YEAR OF WONDER
THE BREAKOUT STAR OF WEDNESDAY SETTLES INTO FAME AND WITH A BEETLEJUICE SEQUEL ON THE HORIZON GETS READY FOR MORE OF IT
![Playing It STRAIGHT](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/12190/1797068/LZ8NxuXly1723627148761/PLAYING-IT-STRAIGHT.jpg)
Playing It STRAIGHT
Dynamic young stars have broken out in queer roles. Should their own sexuality matter?
![Another COUNTRY](https://reseuro.magzter.com/100x125/articles/12190/1797068/KoAfUjrwK1723626911894/ANOTHER-COUNTRY.jpg)
Another COUNTRY
Searching for James Baldwin in the South of France