AI-developed vaccine found safe in early human trial results - Cambridge

Researchers from the University of Cambridge in the United Kingdom have conducted the first human clinical trial of an artificial intelligence (AI)-designed vaccine.

Developed in partnership with DIOSynVax (DVX) Ltd., the universal Sarbeco coronavirus vaccine was tested in 39 volunteers. According to Cambridge, the vaccine is "safe and has no significant side effects."

The vaccine is designed to provide protection against multiple Sarbeco coronaviruses, a large group of naturally occurring coronaviruses that includes SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was administered as a DNA vaccine to volunteers aged 18 to 50 through microfluid jet, a needle-free delivery method.

Cambridge said the vaccine triggered immune responses not only against SARS-CoV-2 and the virus that causes SARS, but also against bat-related viruses that could potentially spill over from animals to humans and cause future pandemics.

The technology uses an AI-designed "super antigen" to provide broad and lasting protection against entire groups of viruses, including Ebola and Sarbeco coronavirus group, even as they mutate.

It also reduces the need for frequent reformulation, which Cambridge noted is a fundamental limitation of current vaccines.

"This is the first time that a vaccine whose active component was designed entirely by computer simulations has been tested in humans," Cambridge said.

An antigen is the active component of a vaccine that stimulates the body's immune system to produce a protective response.

To develop a universal coronavirus vaccine, the research team analyzed all available genetic sequence data from Sarbeco coronaviruses identified through surveillance programs worldwide.

Using machine learning, the researchers created a super antigen containing features common across the entire virus group, including strains that have not yet emerged.

Cambridge said additional testing is required before the vaccine can be considered for public use.

In Phase 2 trials, researchers will evaluate the vaccine's ability to generate immune responses in a larger and more diverse population and confirm that it produces strong, broadly protective immunity.

Sponsored by the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust (UHSFT), the trial was conducted at the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Clinical Research Facilities in Southampton and Cambridge.

“This new class of universal vaccines is future-proofed. They not only protect against many variants simultaneously, but potentially against related viruses that have not yet emerged and spilled over into humans,” said Professor Saul Faust of the University of Southampton, the trial's chief investigator.

“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.”

The findings were published in the Journal of Infection. —VBL, GMA News