A vaccine designed entirely with the help of artificial intelligence has been tested on human volunteers, marking a first in medical research.
It was designed to provide increased immunity against several infectious diseases caused by coronaviruses, including COVID-19, and scientists hoped to obtain a so-called “universal” vaccine, capable of maintaining its effectiveness even when viruses undergo mutations, notes Agerpres.
Although the experiment represents an important step for the use of AI in the development of treatments, the first results are, at least for now, more “modest” than spectacular.
Cambridge University researchers found that the vaccine failed to significantly stimulate antibody production among the roughly 30 people who participated in the clinical trial, according to findings published this month in the Journal of Infection.
Even though the immune response observed so far has been “modest”, the research team believes the project marks an important moment, being the first vaccine whose active ingredient has been designed exclusively with the help of artificial intelligence algorithms.
To achieve it, AI systems analyzed genetic data from several coronaviruses, including those that caused COVID-19, SARS and MERS, with the aim of identifying common characteristics that would allow anticipation of how these viruses might evolve in the future.
If such an approach works, the researchers hope to eliminate the need to constantly update vaccines, as is currently the case with influenza and other viruses that change frequently.
Jonathan Heeney, a virologist at Cambridge University, says the idea is to break out of a situation where research is constantly trying to make up ground in the face of ever-changing viruses and develop a “future-proof” vaccine.
For now, however, the results do not allow such optimistic conclusions. There is one encouraging aspect, however: the vaccine did not cause serious side effects during trials, which is why research will continue.
A new phase of the study, which will include about 200 participants, is to look at whether the vaccine can in practice provide the protection the researchers set out to achieve.
