Artificial intelligence has been used to develop a new type of vaccine that researchers say could protect against an array of viruses.
The researchers from the University of Cambridge note that the development marks the first time a vaccine whose active component was entirely designed by computer simulations and then tested in humans.
The vaccine’s trial used 39 healthy volunteers and targeted Sarbeco coronaviruses, a group of viruses found in nature. “The vaccine triggered immune responses in the volunteers not only to SARS-CoV-2 and SARS, but to related bat viruses that could potentially jump from animals to humans and cause future pandemics,” a report from the University of Cambridge says.
Professor Jonathan Heeney from the Lab of Viral Zoonotics, University of Cambridge’s Department of Veterinary Medicine, and the scientific lead of the research, said, “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.”
“We’ve overcome the problem of traditional vaccines, which have limited protection,” he added. “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.”
According to the report, the team will conduct a larger Phase 2 trial to assess the vaccine’s ability to “induce immune responses in a wider and more diverse population, and confirm that it generates strong, broadly protective immune responses.”
The researchers hope to use the technology to create vaccines for Ebola, flu strains, and coronaviruses.
