World-first AI-designed vaccine enters human testing

Published: 6 June 2026

Anna Zhadan
Contributor

AI designed a "super-antigen" for broad coronavirus protection.
This marks a shift from reactive to proactive vaccine development.
Beyond coronaviruses, the same approach is being applied to universal flu vaccines (including H5N1 bird flu) and viral hemorrhagic fevers like Ebol

Artificial intelligence (AI) helped create a new type of vaccine that could protect people from entire families of viruses and prevent future pandemics, according to researchers.

The vaccine is designed to work against all coronaviruses, including variants that currently infect animals but could potentially jump to humans and trigger new outbreaks.

Current vaccines often need to be updated to keep up with viruses that are constantly changing and mutating – and the new approach aims to offer a solution.

Researchers from the University of Cambridge used AI to analyze the genetic codes of multiple coronaviruses and design a single "super-antigen". That antigen trains the immune system to recognize and protect against the whole family of viruses, including future variants and viruses that could jump from animals to humans.

Antigens are the key components of vaccines – they are molecules, often proteins or protein fragments, that train the immune system to recognize and “remember” a virus so that it can fight off future infections.

The AI analyzed data from past and current outbreaks to identify viral features that are essential for the virus's survival. Cambridge researchers said the event marked the first time AI was used to fully design a vaccine's key component.

The first human trial involved 39 people and was mainly used to ensure the vaccine was safe. The second trial involving around 200 people is expected to provide a better understanding of how well the vaccine can trigger an immune response.

Professor Jonathan Heeney, from the University of Cambridge, told BBC News: "This is about making vaccines that protect us, not just from today's viruses, but protect us from what can cause the next outbreak or disease.

"This is a fundamental shift in how we prepare for pandemics."

The researchers are also developing universal seasonal flu and H5N1 bird flu vaccines, as well as vaccines targeting viral haemorrhagic fevers such as Ebola. In some of these cases, no vaccines exist yet, while in others, such as with seasonal flu, vaccines need to be adapted every year, which the researchers are trying to change.