World’s first vaccine entirely designed by an AI heads to human trials
There is a lot of hype about using AI to help design and discover new drugs, but we are starting to see results.
Key takeaways
- Researchers often spend billions of dollars and countless hours developing new drugs, only for the vast majority to fail long before they reach human trials.
- The AI, called Smart Algorithms for Medical Discovery (SAM), is the work of researchers at Australia’s Flinders University.
- The team then synthesized some of SAM’s top candidates and tested them on human blood cells in a lab.
Cite or link to this article
Griffin, M. (2019) 'World’s first vaccine entirely designed by an AI heads to human trials', 311 Institute, 22 September. Available at: https://www.311institute.com/worlds-first-ai-designed-drug-a-human-flu-vaccine-heads-to-human-trials/ (Accessed: 1 October 2026).
Researchers often spend billions of dollars and countless hours developing new drugs, only for the vast majority to fail long before they reach human trials. And in recent years some of those developers have started exploring ways to use Artificial Intelligence (AI) to help them discover new drugs, with one such AI designing 30,000 new drug combinations in just 21 days, some of which showed a lot of promise. Now though, in another development, one of those AI's has managed to develop a promising new flu vaccine, all by itself.
The AI, called Smart Algorithms for Medical Discovery (SAM), is the work of researchers at Australia’s Flinders University.
The Flinders team started by feeding SAM information on chemical compounds known to activate the human immune system, as well as compounds known to have no effect on it, researcher Nikolai Petrovsky told Business Insider Australia.
Then they developed a computer program that could generate trillions of chemical compounds and let SAM decide which of those compounds might be promising candidates for new drugs.
The team then synthesized some of SAM’s top candidates and tested them on human blood cells in a lab. One of those candidates was a flu vaccine “turbocharger” that later proved incredibly effective in animals.
Clinical trials of the new vaccine in human patients have now kicked off all across the US, and if they go as hoped, we could be entering an era of fewer flus, and more AI developed drugs.
What this means for your organisation
AI can design, not just assist.
SAM chose a vaccine candidate largely on its own. The candidate proved effective in animals. AI is moving from helper to designer in drug discovery.
Failure rates could fall.
Most drugs fail long before human trials. Better early selection could change that. Firms should test AI on their candidate pipelines.
Scale beats intuition.
A program generated trillions of compounds for the AI to assess. No human team could screen so many. Data and computing power become key research assets.
Three questions for your next leadership meeting
- Where could AI design candidates in our research pipeline?
- Do we have the data needed to train drug design AI?
- How would AI-designed drugs change our trial strategy?
The trends and technologies behind this story
From the 311 Starburst, the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit’s map of the technologies and trends shaping the next 50 years.
Analysis by the 311 Strategic Intelligence Unit, from Matthew Griffin’s article and 311 data. First published on Fanatical Futurist.
FAQ
Why does this matter?
There is a lot of hype about using AI to help design and discover new drugs, but we are starting to see results.
About the author
Matthew Griffin Founder, President and Futurist, 311 Institute
Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath."
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Matthew Griffin is a multi-award winning Futurist and expert in Disruption and Innovation, Geopolitics, Leadership, and Technology, who NASA have described as a "walking encyclopaedia of the future" and a "futurist Polymath." 17-time best selling author of the "Codex of the Future" series, Matthew is the Founder, President and Futurist of the 311 Institute, a global Futures and Deep Futures advisory firm working with royal households, world leaders, G7, G20, and G77 governments, NGOs, and multi-national mid and mega cap firms to help them explore, shape, and lead the next 50 years of business and society.
An award-winning YouTube creator with over a million followers, with an unrivalled global reach and impact, Matthew is a highly sought-after international keynote speaker, lecturer, and mentor who collaborates with global leaders through the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to shape pivotal initiatives such as the UN’s AI for Humanity program, the United Nations Conference of the Parties (UN COP), and the World Economic Forum in Davos.
As the former Global Head of Cloud, National Security, and Enterprise Sales for companies including Atos, Dell-EMC, and IBM, Matthew has a proven track record of building multi-billion dollar business units and turning failing divisions into market leaders. His ability to identify, analyse, and communicate the implications of hundreds of emerging technologies and trends is unparalleled, and his insights are trusted by many of the world’s most respected organisations, including ABB, Accenture, Adidas, AON, ARM, BCG, Centrica, Citi, Coca-Cola, Dentons, Deloitte, Dow Jones, EY, Google, KPMG, Lego, Legal & General, LinkedIn, Microsoft, PepsiCo, Qualcomm, RWE, Samsung, Siemens AG and Siemens Energy, T-Mobile, UBS, VISA, Walmart, Workday, Worldpay and many others.
Regularly featured in the global media including the AP, BBC, Bloomberg, CNBC, Discovery, Forbes, Khaleej Times, Telegraph, TIME, ViacomCBS, WIRED, and the WSJ, Matthews mission is to help organisations create a fair and sustainable future whose benefits are shared by everyone irrespective of their ability, background, or circumstances.
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Sources and further reading
- billions of dollars and countless hours nature.com
- Artificial intelligence 311institute.com
- discover new drugs 311institute.com
- AI designing 30,000 new drug combinations 311institute.com
- all by itself abc.net.au
- Flinders University flinders.edu.au
- Turbocharged australian flu vaccine made by artificial intelligence to begin clinical trials sbs.com.au
- U s clinical trials for more effective influenza vaccine begin news.flinders.edu.au
Source: first published by the 311 Institute on 22 September 2019. Cite as: Griffin, M. (2019). World’s first vaccine entirely designed by an AI heads to human trials. 311 Institute. https://www.311institute.com/worlds-first-ai-designed-drug-a-human-flu-vaccine-heads-to-human-trials/
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