A Cambridge University led team has developed a way to engineer better vaccines that could provide broad protection from thousands of variants of viruses - such as coronaviruses and all in a single vaccine.
Developed by the
University of Cambridge and spin-out
DIOSynVax (DVX), researchers say they had used Artificial intelligence (AI) to develop a
fundamentally new type of vaccine that could protect against large swathes of viruses and prevent pandemics.
The experimental
DNA shot successfully passed its initial human clinical trials, proving
safe with no significant side effects.
How the Technology Works
Rather than reacting to a specific circulating strain of a virus, the Cambridge team used a
completely predictive approach.- The "Super-Antigen": Their AI work analysed genetic data from thousands of related coronaviruses, including COVID-19, SARS and bat viruses, identifying stable shared features and combining them into a synthetic super-antigen.
- Long-lasting Protection: This design trains the immune system to recognise shared weak points across a virus family, offering proactive protection against current COVID-19 variants as well as future animal-to-human outbreaks and viruses that have yet to emerge.
Human Trials and Delivery
The initial human trial, published in the
Journal of Infection, involved 39 healthy volunteers between 2021 and 2023.
The vaccine is a DNA-based formula that was
administered via a needle-free microfluid jet, making it a workable
alternative for patients with needle phobias.
At the time of writing, and following promising early safety results, researchers will be launching larger trials to assess the vaccine’s breadth and durability before it is delivered worldwide.
They are also applying the same AI-based approach to other viral families: This
includes influenza and Ebola.
This medical development represents a fundamental new vaccine technology that could prevent future pandemics before they begin.
More details can be found at the Cambridge University
website.