A vaccine designed by artificial intelligence to protect against entire families of coronaviruses has passed its first human safety trial, scientists at the University of Cambridge and spin-out DIOSynVax announced. The Phase I trial gave the needle-free DNA vaccine to 39 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 50 in Cambridge and Southampton and found it safe with no significant side-effects, with results published in the Journal of Infection.
Rather than targeting a single virus, the team used machine learning to scan global genetic data from the Sarbecovirus group and identify structural features shared across the whole family. They then engineered a synthetic 'super-antigen' carrying those common traits. In volunteers the shot triggered immune responses not only to SARS-CoV-2 and the original SARS virus, but to related bat viruses that have not yet jumped to humans.
"We've converted vaccine development from being reactive to being future proof," said lead researcher Professor Jonathan Heeney, arguing that pre-developing such vaccines before an outbreak could save millions of lives. A larger Phase II study is now being planned, with more than 200 people set to be recruited.