Researchers Are Using AI to Create Vaccines—and It’s Working
Scientists at the University of Cambridge developed an AI-designed pan-coronavirus vaccine called pEVAC-PS, which successfully completed a Phase I trial in the UK, showing safety and immune response in healthy volunteers. The vaccine targets conserved sarbecovirus antigens and could potentially be adapted for flu and Ebola, with plans for further Phase II testing underway.
Researchers at the University of Cambridge have created an experimental vaccine using artificial intelligence to combat multiple coronaviruses, including SARS-CoV-2. The vaccine, named pEVAC-PS, targets a conserved antigen across sarbecoviruses—such as SARS-CoV-2, the original SARS virus, and bat coronaviruses—which could prevent future outbreaks. A Phase I trial involving 39 healthy volunteers in the UK found the vaccine safe and well-tolerated, with no serious side effects reported. Early results also showed evidence of an immune response against several coronaviruses simultaneously. The vaccine was developed by training an AI model on genetic data from known sarbecoviruses, identifying a 'super-antigen' that remains stable even as viruses mutate. This approach aims to overcome the limitations of traditional vaccines, which require frequent updates to match new virus variants. The researchers hope the same AI platform could be used to create universal vaccines for other rapidly evolving pathogens like influenza and Ebola. Phase I trials primarily assess safety, and pEVAC-PS met these criteria with no unexpected adverse events. However, immune responses varied among volunteers, likely due to prior exposure to SARS-CoV-2 in most participants. The researchers plan to move forward with a Phase II trial to further evaluate the vaccine’s efficacy. Beyond coronaviruses, the team is exploring applications for flu and Ebola vaccines using the same AI-driven methodology. A spinoff company has been created to accelerate development, though details about its structure or funding were not provided in the study. The findings were published in the *Journal of Infection* and mark the first human trial of an entirely AI-designed vaccine.
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