The treatment in question (Zmapp) are heavily funded supported by various DoD entities. Weaponized ebola (along with smallpox) were always something of a bogey-

The treatment in question (Zmapp) are heavily funded supported by various DoD entities. Weaponized ebola (along with smallpox) were always something of a bogey-man that received perhaps outsized attention from various sources. Secondly, if it weren't for this outbreak, all of these treatments and vaccines would likely sit around in clinical trial hell for quite a while. Cynically speaking, since clinical trials are so risky and expensive, its best if the developers can off-load some of that risk and expense. Picking something like Ebola, surviving on government funding (because its seen as strategic), and waiting for an emergency to allow you to skip a lot of red tape, and get dollops of support, isn't really a terrible choice. Oh, and antibiotics are hard. For an overview of the current state of antibiotic development, you can take a look here: http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-briefs/2014/03/12/tracking-the-pipeline-of-antibiotics-in-development http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/issue-brie... Note that 43 drugs are in the pipeline.