British scientists have developed a groundbreaking universal vaccine that could protect against entire families of viruses, potentially preventing future pandemics before they begin. The world-first jab, created using artificial intelligence (AI), targets viral components that are essential for survival and cannot mutate easily, offering broad and lasting immunity.
How the Vaccine Works
Researchers at the universities of Cambridge and Southampton fed AI systems with data on all known viral mutations globally to identify a 'super antigen' on viral molecules that is crucial for the survival of related viruses. This allows the vaccine to protect against multiple variants simultaneously, as well as related viruses that have not yet emerged in humans.
Chief investigator Prof Saul Faust of the University of Southampton explained: 'Viruses like flu, coronaviruses, and the ebola group are evolving continuously, and by the time vaccines are rolled out, they may be poorly matched. This new class of universal vaccines is future-proofed. If we can develop and clinically advance this new class of vaccines before a virus outbreak begins, millions of lives could be saved, lockdowns avoided, and the economy preserved.'
Trial Results
The universal Sarbeco coronavirus vaccine, developed in collaboration with biotechnology company DIOSynVax, was tested on 49 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 50 in Cambridge and Southampton. The vaccine was administered as a DNA vaccine through a needle-free micro fluid jet, which pushes vaccine blueprints directly into skin cells using a high-pressure, hair-thin stream of liquid.
Researchers found the jab to be safe and capable of triggering an immune response not only against SARS-CoV-2 and SARS but also against related bat viruses that could potentially jump from animals to humans. A previous animal study also showed a strong immune response against a range of coronaviruses.
Next Steps
The phase II trial will now recruit over 200 volunteers to further test the vaccine's efficacy. Prof Jonathan Heeney, co-author from the lab of viral zoonotics at Cambridge, expressed hope that the technology could be a 'game changer', providing broad protection from thousands of virus variants, such as ebola. He stated: 'There's a lot of viruses out there, and once we know them, we start chasing them, but we have to change that paradigm. This is about making vaccines that not only protect us from today's viruses but also from those that haven't yet happened.'
Prof Marian Knight, scientific director for the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) Infrastructure, commented: 'The remarkable success of this AI-designed super-antigen trial marks a pivotal leap forward in our ability to deliver broad, lasting viral protection.'
