AI-designed vaccines could save millions of lives, scientists claim

Artificial intelligence could soon protect humanity from future pandemics by generating “universal” vaccines capable of wiping out entire virus families with a single shot.

Scientists from the University of Cambridge and biotech firm DIOSynVax have completed a world-first human trial of a “future-proofed” coronavirus vaccine.

Unlike traditional, reactive vaccines that target specific, pre-existing viral strains, this new method leverages machine learning to get ahead of the evolutionary curve.

By analysing massive global surveillance datasets of past and present outbreaks, the AI isolates “super-antigens”– the critical, unchanging structural components that a virus family requires to survive.

“We look at what is consistent, what is not changing, and what is essential for their life,” explained Professor Jonathan Heeney, head of the viral zoonotics lab at Cambridge. “It not only predicts, but it targets what is essential for that virus family… something the virus can’t change easily.”

The breakthrough could effectively end the frantic race to update jabs as pathogens mutate, allowing health systems to avoid economically devastating lockdowns.

A Phase I clinical trial, published in the Journal of Infection, tested the universal Sarbeco coronavirus vaccine on 49 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 50.

Administered via a needle-free microfluidic jet – which uses a high-pressure, hair-thin stream of liquid to push DNA blueprints directly into skin cells – the vaccine was deemed safe.

Crucially, it triggered a robust immune response against SARS-CoV-2, the original SARS virus, and related bat coronaviruses capable of spilling over into humans.

Researchers are already looking to apply the machine-learning technology to other major global health threats, including bird flu and Ebola. Professor Heeney noted that the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda highlights the flaw in modern medicine’s “reactive” strategy, which leaves humanity constantly chasing new variants.

Professor Saul Faust, the trial’s chief investigator from the University of Southampton, hailed the AI technology as a massive paradigm shift.

“This new class of universal vaccines are future-proofed,” Faust said. “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.”

Following the successful safety trials, researchers are now preparing to recruit upwards of 200 participants for a Phase II study to further evaluate the vaccine’s efficacy.