Next generation vaccines development using cutting-edge AI [3:00]

AI and next generation vaccine.

The NEC group is applying its cutting-edge AI and ICT technologies in the development of vaccines against current and emerging infectious diseases.

COVID-19 is a reminder of how even the tiniest of organisms can impact us in devastating proportions.

While we can never foretell the next pandemic, outbreaks are becoming more frequent in recent decades.
Innovative vaccine development to prepare for these future threats is of urgent need.

In a partnership with CEPI, NEC and NEC OncoImmunity are working to realize a broadly protective vaccine against betacoronaviruses.

Including SARS, MERS, and SARS-CoV-2, more than 100 related viruses belong to betacoronavirus,
and it is a challenge to create this one of a kind vaccine that integrates numerous related viruses into the design.

Today's Covid-19 vaccines work to activate spike-targeting immune responses,
to prevent the virus from infecting healthy cells.

Yet, immunity wanes over time as the virus mutates, especially without regular boosters.

And because vaccines were made to target COVID19, efficacy against other betacoronaviruses is unknown.

In NEC's approach, the AI identifies key vaccine elements not only from the spike protein,
but also from other viral regions.

and targets shared across different betacoronaviruses are selected for broadly protective vaccine.

This vaccine will act on both B cells and T cells to ensure a robust immune response.
B cells produce antibodies that could block different betacoronaviruses and cytotoxic T cells that work to eliminate virus-infected cells and prevent severe disease.
T cells are also essential for long term immunity.

To identify T-cell activating regions, NEC utilizes its expertise in cancer vaccines
where genome information of tumor cells are analyzed for patient-specific cancer markers that are used to direct T cells into attacking the cancer

Applied to infectious disease, viral sequences are used to predict markers of virus infected cells, to stimulate T cell response.

The resulting next generation vaccine could help to mitigate the damaging effects of another COVID-like pandemic.

Led by the AI Drug Development Division,in NEC Japan.

We are taping into the wisdom of the entire NEC group.

NEC's unparalleled technological capabilities and network will enable us to realize our vision of the future of global health.

Toward an Infectious Disease Free Future.

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Orchestrating a brighter world
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