

How the U.S. Screwed Up in the Fight Against Ebola - e15ctr0n
http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-09-24/ebola-drug-zmapps-development-delayed-by-pentagon-agency

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bayesianhorse
"The federal government does not know how to write a check". --- Well,
actually it is very very easy for a government to write a check. Except that
in the US, it has been made so extremely hard for them, that stuff like space
travel, general and medical research just doesn't get funded quickly enough.
These regulations have their merits, but the downsides are hardly ever
discussed when people want to stop federal overspending...

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ctdonath
"why were there so few doses [of ZMapp] on hand?"

Don't underestimate how hard it can be to make medicines, especially novel new
ones for rare ailments.

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drivingmenuts
That's a rather loaded question. It assumes that the drug is well-tested and
is considered a cure, rather than an experiment. Furthermore, while ebola has
always been a concern, the current outbreak is without precedent, so no major
preparations were in place.

Yeah, it sucks that there's not enough ZMapp to go around, but on the other
hand, it's not done yet.

