Ebola ZMapp Drug has Finished -Maker

The Ebola drug maker,ZMappBiopharmaceutical, has announced that its
supply of the experimental drug developed to treat the Ebola Virus
Disease has been exhausted.

The company said this on Tuesday in a short statement made available
on its website.

It said that it had offered its drugs to various medical teams free of charge.

The company's statement read in part, "The available supply ofZMapp(tm)
has been exhausted."
"We have complied with every request forZMapp(tm) that had the necessary
legal/regulatory authorisation. It is the requestors' decision whether
they wish to make public their request, acquisition, or use of the
experimental drug.

"Any decision to useZMapp(tm) must be made by the patients' medical team.
Drug has been provided at no cost in all cases.

"It is our understanding that all patients offered treatment, treated,
or expected to be treated were or are highly capable of providing
informed consent for the use of an experimental drug not yet evaluated
for safety in animals or people."

The Ebola drug was given to two Americans and a Spanish priest
infected in two West African countries.

Countries including Nigeria and Liberia had requested for the drug, calledZMapp.

According to the company, the ZMapp was first identified as "a drug
candidate in January 2014 and has not yet been evaluated for
safety in humans". As such, it said very small supply of the
drug was available.

It said further that any decision to use "an experimental drug in a
patient would be a decision made by the treating physician under the
regulatory guidelines of the United States' Food and Drug
Administration.

The Ebola drug-making company however promised that it would work on
increasing supply as soon as possible.

It said, "ZMappand its partners are cooperating with
appropriate government agencies to increase production as quickly as
possible."

Meanwhile, a panel of experts was convened on Monday by the World
Health Organisation to consider and assess the "ethical implications
for clinical decision-making of the potential use of unregistered
interventions,",saying that it is ethical to use experimental Ebola
drugs.

They reached a consensus that "in the circumstances of this outbreak,
it is ethical to offer unproven interventions with as of yet unknown
efficacy and adverse effects" as potential treatment or prevention.