 In 2014, the FDA added an Ebola treatment being developed by Canadian pharmaceutical company Tekmira to the Fast Track program, but halted the phase 1 trials in July pending the receipt of more information about how the drug works.This is seen as increasingly important in the face of a major outbreak of the disease in West Africa that began in late March 2014 and continued .During the coronavirus pandemic, FDA granted Emergency Use Authorization for personal protective equipment (PPE), in vitro diagnostic equipment, ventilators and other medical devices.