--- title: What We Know About The ‘Secret’ Ebola Serum description: Two Americans have been treated with this experimental serum, but what exactly is it, and what does it do? canonical: https://time.com/3082891/ebola-outbreak-serum/ author: TIME Video article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-08-05T17:32:41.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-10-01T08:58:00.485Z article:section: Health og:title: What we know about the ‘secret’ Ebola serum og:description: Two Americans have been treated with this experimental serum, but what exactly is it, and what does it do? og:url: https://time.com/3082891/ebola-outbreak-serum/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt32c35d98b22707e7/69869e5e810bbb02d8c92e22/89001431.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4730 og:image:height: 2661 og:image:alt: 89001431 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What we know about the ‘secret’ Ebola serum twitter:description: Two Americans have been treated with this experimental serum, but what exactly is it, and what does it do? twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt32c35d98b22707e7/69869e5e810bbb02d8c92e22/89001431.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # What We Know About the ‘Secret’ Ebola Serum > Sponsored content. 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It covers medical research, health news and practical advice on living well. #### Where can I get reliable health news by email? Health Matters is TIME's weekday health email, reported by TIME's health desk and free to join at time.com/newsletters. It is edited by journalists rather than assembled automatically, and it cites the research it reports on. #### Is Health Matters free? Yes. Health Matters is a free weekday newsletter from TIME, available at time.com/newsletters. #### Who reads TIME's Health Matters newsletter? Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-health-2026q3/newsletters?i=f5c5cc6c-4bda-4944-9776-bdaaa3409e2a&cr=time-nl-health-2026q3-v1) ## Video: What We Know About The ‘Secret’ Ebola Serum [Watch (HLS stream): What We Know About The ‘Secret’ Ebola Serum](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/N33O86WL.m3u8) (1:37)  _Published 2014-08-05. The two Americans infected with Ebola received a dose of experimental serum, and the results are encouraging. But the serum hasn’t been approved by the FDA or even undergone human testing._ by [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Aug 5, 2014 5:32 PM UTC by [TIME Video](https://time.com/author/time-video/) ## TIME Video Aug 5, 2014 5:32 PM UTC The two Americans infected with the Ebola virus, [Kent Brantly](http://time.com/3075848/cdc-ebola-patient-improving/) and [Nancy Writebol](http://time.com/3082619/ebola-atlanta-american-nancy-writebol/), have received a dose of the experimental [Ebola](http://time.com/3079466/nigeria-second-ebola-victim/) serum with encouraging results. The serum, however, has not been approved by the FDA or even tested on humans. The drug, called Z-Mapp, was developed by Mapp Biopharmaceuticals. It is one of the first treatments to show promise fighting the disease, and it works by preventing the [Ebola virus](http://time.com/3056038/ebola-virus-outbreak-explained/) from infecting new cells. Though it’s ostensibly illegal to administer an untested drug, this situation would likely fall under the FDA’s “compassionate use” exception to treat patients with immediately life-threatening conditions. ## Transcript The two Americans infected with Ebola received a dose of experimental serum and the results are encouraging. News casts even show Kent Brantley walking into Emory university hospital in Atlanta after he was flown back to the US for treatment. Nancy Right received two doses of the same serum and although she hasn't shown as much improvement as Brantley she did get well enough to allow doctors. To transfer her to Emory Hospital as well. So, what's the story behind this experimental treatment. The serum was developed by Mapp Biopharmaceutical and has not yet been approved for use by the FDA. It hasn't even undergone human testing, which makes Brantly and Writebol. The first people to receive the drug. The drug called ZMapp is one of the first treatments to show promise combatting Ebola. It works by preventing the virus from entering and infecting new cells. Normally it would be illegal to administer an untested drug but CNN speculates this case. Falls under the FDA's companionate use regulation, which allows for drugs such as this one to be used outside of clinical trials. It's unclear how much of this serum exists right now. ABC reports that when the three doses where shipped to Liberia, doctors weren't even sure if there would be enough for the two patients. However, the defense rep reduction agency announced it will increase funding for the MAPP Biopharmaceutical. To further develop the drug. There is currently no time table for when the drug will be formally tested. 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