NAD+ and Aging: ChromaDex CEO Rob Fried Discusses Science, Industry Challenges and Future Expectations

Mapping The Nutraceuticals World

With rising interest in healthy aging, more people are looking for clinical research that supports products designed to help them live healthier for longer.
The coenzyme NAD+ is essential to the body's metabolic processes, but it declines with age, so supplements that boost NAD+ have garnered considerable attention in the scientific community.
ChromaDex, which is publicly traded on the Nasdaq, offers the consumer product brand Tru Niagen. This patented form of nicotinamide riboside (NR) is a precursor to NAD+.
Tru Niagen sales totaled nearly $70 million last year, accounting for the majority of the company’s $83.6 million in revenue.
In this interview, ChromaDex CEO Rob Fried discusses NAD+ and emerging research, the company’s evolution to become a consumer-focused nutraceutical, the future of aging, critical challenges in today’s dietary supplement market, and more.
Spoiler alert: Fried is calling for more accountability and collaboration to enforce quality standards and establish greater trust with consumers.
In addition to being CEO of ChromaDex since 2017 and the founder of Tru Niagen, Fried is an Academy Award and Emmy Award winning motion picture producer. Before his combined 7 years in the health industry, he held senior roles at entertainment companies Savoy Pictures (CEO), Columbia Pictures (Executive Vice President) and Fried Films (founder, CEO). He has also founded and served as CEO of internet companies Feeln (now Hallmark Movies Now), WHN (a leading e-commerce service provider), and Healthspan Research LLC.
In 2017, Fried led ChromaDex’s acquisition of Healthspan Research LLC, a consumer company offering Tru Niagen products, and raised funds with Horizon Ventures to offer Tru Niagen direct-to-consumer. He holds a BS from Cornell University and an MBA from the Columbia University Graduate School of Business.