AI-designed pan-Sarbecovirus vaccine pEVAC-PS passes first human safety trial, Cambridge DIOSynVax
A vaccine built for coronaviruses that haven't emerged yet just passed its first human safety test. Cambridge researchers used AI to design a 'super-antigen' covering the Sarbeco family: SARS-CoV-2, SARS and bat viruses. 39 volunteers, no significant side effects, needle-free.
A vaccine designed to protect against coronaviruses that have not yet emerged has passed its first human safety trial, an early step toward broader protection against future outbreaks. Researchers at the University of Cambridge and its spinout company DIOSynVax developed the experimental shot, called pEVAC-PS, and tested it in 39 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 50. The vaccine was found to be safe and caused no significant side effects. What sets it apart is how it was designed. Rather than targeting a single virus strain, the team used artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze genetic data from across the Sarbeco coronavirus family, the group that includes SARS-CoV-2, the original SARS virus, and several bat coronaviruses that could one day spill over into humans. The AI identified features shared across the whole family and combined them into a single super-antigen. According to the researchers, it is the first time a vaccine whose active ingredient was created entirely through computer simulation has been tested in people. In the trial, the vaccine triggered immune responses not only against SARS-CoV-2 and SARS but also against related bat viruses that have not yet infected humans. It was delivered without a needle, as a DNA vaccine through a micro fluid jet. The work, published in the Journal of Infection, was led by Professor Jonathan Heeney in Cambridge and Professor Saul Faust in Southampton, with funding primarily from Innovate UK. A larger Phase 2 study is planned. Source: University of Cambridge, via ScienceDaily.