AI-Designed Universal Coronavirus Vaccine Passes First Human Trial

Ariel Antonio

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June 5, 2026

The record on this trial is short and specific. Thirty-nine healthy adults, aged 18 to 50, received an experimental coronavirus vaccine at research facilities in Southampton and Cambridge. The study found it safe, with no significant side effects.

The vaccine came out of the University of Cambridge and its spinout company DIOSynVax. Its active ingredient was designed entirely by computer, and researchers say it is the first vaccine of that kind to be tested in people. Results appeared in the Journal of Infection.

What the trial found

The vaccine stimulated immune responses against SARS-CoV-2, against SARS, and against related bat viruses that have not yet infected humans. All of those belong to the Sarbeco group of coronaviruses. Animal studies before the human trial had shown strong responses against several coronaviruses.

Participants were vaccinated at National Institute for Health and Care Research clinical research facilities. University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust sponsored the study. Innovate UK was the main funder.

Delivery was needle-free. The antigen was given as a DNA vaccine through a micro fluid jet system. Researchers say that could help people uneasy about injections and might speed up large vaccination campaigns where standard injections are harder to give.

The design approach

The team used artificial intelligence and machine learning to build what it calls a “super-antigen.” The system read genetic data on Sarbeco coronaviruses collected through surveillance programs around the world, picked out the features the viruses share, and folded them into one antigen. Conventional vaccines, such as flu shots and updated COVID-19 boosters, are built around strains already circulating and tend to need regular updates.

Professor Jonathan Heeney, who led the scientific research at Cambridge’s Department of Veterinary Medicine, described the shift this way: “We’ve converted vaccine development from being reactive to being future proof.” He said the approach lets researchers “escape the constant cycle of chasing the virus variants circulating in humans.”

Professor Saul Faust of the University of Southampton, the trial’s chief investigator, said current vaccines struggle because viruses evolve continuously and rollouts can arrive “poorly matched.” Developing this class of vaccine before an outbreak, he said, could mean “millions of lives could be saved, lockdowns avoided and the economy preserved.”

What remains

A first-stage trial measures safety and immune response. It does not prove protection against disease. A larger Phase 2 study is planned to test a broader and more diverse group and to confirm the strength and range of the protection. The vaccine is not available to the public.

Researchers believe the same strategy could later be applied to Ebola viruses and influenza. DIOSynVax, founded in 2017 with support from Cambridge Enterprise, lists seasonal and pandemic influenza, hemorrhagic fever viruses and SARS-CoV-2 among its candidate targets.