By now you’ve seen the video of Dr. Kent Bradley wearing a haz-mat suit, being walked into Emory in Atlanta for treatment of Ebola. Β He’s in amazingly good shape for such a debilitating, deadly disease. Β And that’s thanks, possibly, in part to a super-secret experimental drug that nobody knew existed. Β Well, somebody knew it existed, so why didn’t we?
To bring you up to speed, Charlotte’s Nancy Writebol is also headed to Emory. Β She’s the second aid worker, along with Dr. Brantley, to contract Ebola in Liberia. Β And she has also received the new drug which is credited with stabilizing her condition. Β But it’s not a cure, at least, not so far.
But what about this mysterious new drug that nobody seemed to know about until last week? Β It’s called M-zapp, made by a private drug development company in California. Β It’s never been used in humans before, but still, just days before it was given to Brantley and Writebol, a division of the U.S. military gave the company a huge new grant to continue development, which makes you think anti-germ warfare. Β But two days later, the FDA stepped in to cut off testing.
Of course, the U.S. has had plenty of criticism from inside: people complaining the drug approval process takes too long. Β For example, there’s no cure for aids or HIV in adults, and that’s been a huge problem. Β But then people like Magic Johnson are able to work around the medical system, finding ways to access experimental drug cocktails. Β And by “ways”, we mean “money.”
Of course, there’s no cure for cancer, and some might say there’s more money in treatments than cures. Β Throw in controversies like Lorenzo’s Oil and CDBs, and it might look like somebody is hiding something. Β
So our Man on the Edge, Robert Wilder, went to see if the government knows about cures they won’t tell us…
Β
Β
