BluMaiden uses AI and microbiome insights to boost immunotherapy prediction and speed up drug discovery.
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Immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) have transformed oncology care, yet a stubborn fact remains: many patients don’t respond to treatment, while still bearing the cost and toxicity of these powerful therapies. At BluMaiden Biosciences, clinical gaps like this aren’t just a problem to solve; they form the foundation for a bold new approach to drug discovery and development.
From founding vision to scientific breakthrough
At the ASCO 2025 Annual Meeting, BluMaiden unveiled an abstract detailing a novel, non-invasive AI-based platform for predicting patient response to ICI therapy, rooted in microbiome-derived biomarkers. “We’re shifting the conversation from the tumor microenvironment to the gut-immune axis,” says Dr. Damien Keogh, BluMaiden’s Founder and Director. “That’s where the untapped signal is.” The machine learning platform, trained across diverse hepatocellular carcinoma and melanoma datasets, achieves cross-cohort predictive accuracy exceeding 0.82 AUC. In modeled scenarios, stratified patient response rates could increase from 20–50% to over 90%, highlighting the tool’s immense translational value, which the company aims to leverage to optimize and de-risk Pharma clinical trials.
BluMaiden’s inception dates back to 2020, when Dr. Keogh, a molecular biologist turned venture capital Entrepreneur-in-Residence, reunited with former colleague and computational biologist Dr. Rohan Williams. Over coffee in post-lockdown Singapore, they discussed an idea that bridged cutting-edge AI and multi-omics data with human microbiome-based disease biology: discovering and validating naturally occurring, human-derived, natural product small molecule therapeutics that are already biocompatible by evolutionary design. “I asked Rohan, ‘Is this scientifically sound, or is it too far out there?’” Damien recalls. “Rohan thought it was far from crazy. In fact, it was timely.”
Integrating microbiome insights into drug discovery
The company’s business model is split into two parts. The first is the drug discovery component. The second part is providing services to pharmaceutical companies to streamline decision-making in clinical trials and in turn, to gain early access to clinical data to feed the drug-discovery side of the business. From its early days, BluMaiden has sought to innovate in drug discovery by linking chemistry and genetics through new platform technologies that scale the insights obtainable. With the current ICI example, disease mechanism insights from ICI therapy and disease progression enable the discovery of relevant natural product drug candidates. “We’ve essentially built platform technologies that allow Pharma to identify the right patients, optimize endpoints, and improve success rates - all while shortening the timeline to market,” says Dr. Keogh.
This clinical intelligence is paired with a deep focus on next-generation small molecules therapeutics. Traditional chemical libraries often fail to deliver compound diversity, re-discovering similar scaffolds and overlooking biocompatibility. BluMaiden addresses this through a computational chemistry engine tethered to disease mechanism insights from microbiome clinical datasets - an evolution-shaped source of naturally functional, stable molecules. “Unlike synthetic compounds, microbiota-derived natural products have been fine-tuned by evolution over millions of years. They’re inherently biocompatible, stable in human systems, and often have precise, functional roles in health and disease.” says Damien. “We just need the tools to access this.”
Growing impact and future directions
In 2024, BluMaiden took a strategic leap by evolving its leadership structure. After 4.5 years as CEO, Dr. Keogh transitioned into the Chief Operating Officer role to make way for a new, US-based executive team designed to scale operations and commercial engagement.
Longtime collaborator Dr. Terence Kelly, a pharmaceutical R&D veteran with over 35 years’ experience in both large and small companies, was appointed CEO and is based in the USA. A key figure in the discovery and development of immunological cell adhesion inhibitors during his tenure at Boehringer Ingelheim, Dr. Kelly brings both scientific depth and commercial insight to BluMaiden’s US expansion. “Terry has been with us since the early days. His leadership supercharges our ability to execute,” says Dr. Keogh.
Supporting this next phase is Dr. Damian O’Connell, who now serves as both Chair of the Scientific Advisory Board and a member of BluMaiden’s Board of Directors. A seasoned Pharma executive with past roles at Bayer, Pfizer, and Neurex, Dr. O’Connell is also CEO of A*STAR’s Experimental Drug Development Centre in Singapore. His dual lens as a clinician and industry veteran sharpens BluMaiden’s translational focus.
With operations now spanning Singapore, the United States, and Europe, and recognition as an Amazon AWS Qualified Software Provider, BluMaiden’s industry impact is growing. Its platform not only enables the discovery of novel chemical entities but also supports Pharma with services that directly impact trial efficiency, clinical insight generation, and ultimately, drug success rates.
“If we give Pharma molecules that are safer, more effective, and reach patients faster – we’re not just improving drug development,” says Dr. Keogh. “We’re improving lives. That’s the reason we built this company.”
BluMaiden’s Dual Engine: How Innovation and Commercial Synergy Drive Sustainable Growth
Eliot Ward, Partner and Patent Attorney at Mewburn Ellis, comments:
“The synergism between their blue skies drug discovery efforts and their commercial services distinguishes BluMaiden from most startups and suggests that the already impressive growth rate their first half-decade can be sustained and accelerated in future."
Written by Grace Browne.
