Researchers at the University of Cambridge have developed the first human vaccine designed by artificial intelligence. The vaccine has already passed its first test in people and is now being studied further.
It is meant to protect against viruses in the sarbecovirus family, including SARS and SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Instead of being built around one current virus strain, the design uses prediction and computer analysis of several coronaviruses.
Scientists used AI to find shared parts of these viruses and build a synthetic antigen, or vaccine target, that focuses the immune system on those common features. The vaccine is also needle-free and is given with a jet injector system.
The first trial included only 39 people and was designed to check safety. A second trial with 200 participants is under way to test effectiveness. The human immune response was described as modest, so much larger studies are still needed.
