Two American aid workers infected with the Ebola virus in Africa have been treated with a serum grown by genetically modified tobacco plants, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported.

Mapp Biopharmaceuticals of California developed a compound containing a cocktail of antibodies given the name ZMapp. This compound is introduced into GM tobacco plants, which build proteins like a photocopier until enough have been made to extract desired elements and purify them into a serum, the newspaper said on its website.
Kentucky BioProcessing, a subsidiary of Reynolds American since January, grows the drug. Tobacco plants readily pick up inserted genes, making them suitable vehicles for growing larger volumes of a compound inexpensively and within weeks, the newspaper said. Until now, the treatment has only been tested on animals.
Dr Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol were flown for treatment to a hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, after contracting the virus while caring for Ebola patients in Liberia.