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Scientists at the University of Cambridge have successfully completed the first human trial of a new “universal” coronavirus vaccine designed using artificial intelligence (AI).
A report published on the university’s website on Thursday, titled “New ‘universal vaccine’ technology could protect us from future virus outbreaks,” revealed this.
A research team from the University of Cambridge and biotechnology spin-out DIOSynVax have been developing vaccines that could protect people against entire families of viruses, including future threats that have not yet emerged.
The early-stage trial involving 39 healthy volunteers found the vaccine safe, with no significant side effects reported. Researchers said the vaccine is designed not just for one virus, but for a whole group known as Sarbeco coronaviruses, which includes SARS-CoV-2 (the virus behind COVID-19), SARS, and related bat viruses that could potentially spill over into humans in future outbreaks.
“This represents a fundamental new vaccine technology that could prevent future pandemics before they begin.”
Other conventional vaccines are made to match individual virus strains; the new approach uses AI to design what scientists call a “super-antigen”, a vaccine component built from common genetic features shared across many viruses.
The vaccine aims to train the immune system to recognise not just one variant, but a wide range of current and future versions of related viruses.
“We’ve converted vaccine development from being reactive to being future proof. Our vaccines will continue to provide protection against viruses even as they mutate into new strains,” said Professor Jonathan Heeney, who led the research at the University of Cambridge.
Heeney stated: “We’ve overcome the problem of traditional vaccines, which have limited protection. It means we can escape the constant cycle of chasing the virus variants circulating in humans and updating the vaccines to try to catch up, like a dog chasing its tail.”
Furthermore, the vaccine was tested at clinical research facilities in Southampton and Cambridge, and delivered using a needle-free jet system in the trial. The results revealed that volunteers developed immune responses not only to known coronaviruses such as COVID-19 but also to related animal viruses that have not yet caused human outbreaks.
“This new class of universal vaccines are future-proofed. They not only protect against many variants simultaneously, but potentially against related viruses that haven’t yet emerged and spilt over to humans,” said Professor Saul Faust, chief investigator of the trial.
Faust added: “If we can develop and clinically advance this new class of vaccines before a virus outbreak begins, millions of lives could be saved, lockdowns avoided and the economy preserved.”
However, researchers stress that the vaccine is still in early development and a larger Phase 2 trial is needed to confirm how well it works in a more diverse population and how strong its protection really is.
“This milestone was only made possible through partnerships between the life sciences sector and our world-class NIHR infrastructure in Cambridge and Southampton, whose Clinical Research Facilities provided the vital expertise and environment needed to safely fast-track this innovation, and bring it one big step closer to patients,” said Professor Marian Knight of the NIHR Infrastructure programme.
