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World's first AI-designed coronavirus vaccine: Everything you need to know | TheHealthSite.com
Scientists have developed the world's first AI-designed coronavirus vaccine showing promising early safety in human trials while aiming to protect against current and future variants. TheHealthSite.com
Scientists have developed the world's first AI-designed coronavirus vaccine showing promising early safety in human trials while aiming to protect against current and future variants.
A leading research team at Cambridge University has succeeded in testing the world's first coronavirus vaccination developed through artificial intelligence (AI) which could be a game-changer for the future of Pandemic Preparedness. The vaccine has completed a preliminary stage of human safety testing and further testing is underway which is hopeful for a new generation of "future-proof" vaccines. The results of the Phase 1 research have been published in the Journal of Infection.
What makes this vaccine different?
This vaccine is based on so-called predictive technology unlike conventional vaccines which are developed for the virus strains in circulation. Researchers used AI to study several coronaviruses and to develop a "super antigen" that attacked commonalities within the coronavirus family.Its purpose is to prepare the immune system against SARS-CoV-2 as well as other emerging variants that may develop in the future. The vaccine also comes in a needle-free package. It does not require the traditional syringe but rather a special jet injection system called PharmaJet Tropis that injects the ingredients of the vaccine by means of fluid dynamics.
What does the study reveal?
The human trial was carried out in a small number of subjects (39) and was mainly intended for safety and tolerability evaluation. The study found that the vaccine stimulated a "modest" immune response in humans. A larger trial with 200 people is now taking place to establish if the vaccine can be seen to offer wider and permanent protection.Speaking to Medical News Today, Marc Boubnovski, senior AI scientist at Novo Nordisk, explained that the trial's primary goal was to show early safety. But he warned that the vaccine hasn't been proven to have a significant immune response required to be called a universal coronavirus vaccine.
How is AI used to design a vaccine?
Experts say it's not a situation where AI has developed a vaccine from scratch. Rather, AI is a powerful tool able to quickly scan through the sequence of viruses and detect conserved regions - regions within viruses that do not change significantly over time.Dr. Monica Gandhi, infectious disease expert and professor of medicine at the University of California San Francisco explained that these common elements could offer protection against several different coronaviruses, including unknown variants that haven't been seen in nature.
