ChromaDex, Backed by Li Ka-shing with $25M Investment, Files for IPO Amid Global Expansion of Anti-Aging Supplement Tru Niagen

In recent years, the surge in popularity of the anti-aging sector has drawn significant attention to anti-aging supplements, attracting numerous world-class scientists and top-tier billionaires to invest in and explore the “miracle cure” for extending human lifespan.

Li Ka-shing is one of them.In 2017, Li Ka-shing invested $25 million (approximately RMB 180 million) in a company named “ChromaDex” to develop an NAD+ supplement called “Tru Niagen.” Shortly thereafter, Li Ka-shing introduced Tru Niagen (Le Jia Xin) to the Hong Kong market, where it was exclusively launched by Watsons.

What is this miraculous product that attracted Li Ka-shing’s investment and earned his endorsement—“I feel like I’m 20 again”—after he took it?

In fact, this company is indeed well-connected.

ChromaDex (NASDAQ: CDXC), founded in 1999 and headquartered in Los Angeles, California, USA, is a global bioscience company dedicated to healthy aging. According to Crunchbase, the company completed its initial public offering on June 30, 2008.Not only does it have two Nobel laureates serving as scientific advisors and has completed 10 rounds of financing within nine years, but in recent years, it has also continued to expand its commercial footprint, entering the mainland China market while simultaneously strengthening its efforts in the field of pet longevity.

Two members of ChromaDex’s Scientific Advisory Board stand out: Nobel laureates Roger Kornberg and John Walker.

Among them, Dr. Roger Kornberg is a professor at Stanford University School of Medicine and was awarded the 2006 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his studies of the molecular basis of eukaryotic transcription.

Professor John Walker was awarded the Copley Medal, the Royal Society’s highest honor, for his contributions to the fields of biochemistry and molecular biology. In 1997, Professor John Walker and biochemist Dr. Paul D. Boyer received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for elucidating the enzymatic mechanism of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthesis.

In addition to the endorsement of two Nobel laureates, Dr. Charles Brenner, its Chief Scientific Advisor, has also played a pivotal role in driving ChromaDex’s development. It can be said that his scientific discoveries directly incubated ChromaDex’s core products.

Dr. Charles Brenner is the Alfred E. Mann Family Foundation Chair in Diabetes and Cancer Metabolism at City of Hope National Medical Center. Over the past decade, Dr. Brenner has made multiple groundbreaking contributions to NAD+ metabolism.

For example, he engineered a yeast strain capable of converting NAD+ precursor vitamins into NR. Dr. Brenner also led the first clinical trial of NR, establishing the safety of oral NR administration in humans. Currently, his research focuses on the effects of oral NR on maternal and neonatal health.

In 2004, Charles Brenner discovered that nicotinamide riboside (NR) can elevate the levels of a vital cellular resource. This resource is a core regulator of energy metabolism and plays a significant role in healthy human aging. Based on Dr. Brenner’s patents and ChromaDex’s established technology, NR was exclusively licensed to ChromaDex and developed into Niagen.According to ChromaDex, Niagen is the world’s first and only known form of NR that has undergone FDA safety review.

Niagen is the sole active and patented ingredient in ChromaDex’s flagship product, Tru Niagen. As a unique vitamin B3 derivative, it can be utilized by cells to produce nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+).

The company stated that Tru Niagen is the world’s only patented, extensively researched, and safety-assessed form of nicotinamide riboside.Its flagship ingredient, Niagen, has been approved by the U.S. FDA for use in dietary supplements, by the Brazilian Health Regulatory Agency (ANVISA) for use in medical foods, by the European Commission for use in food supplements, by the Australian Therapeutic Goods Administration (TGA) for use as a complementary medicine, and by Food Standards Australia New Zealand (FSANZ) for use in medical foods.

To date, ChromaDex has engaged in more than 275 global scientific research collaborations through the ChromaDex External Research Program (CERP™). More than 25 published human clinical studies have demonstrated the safety and efficacy of Niagen in boosting NAD+ levels.

According to ChromaDex, more than 75% of the registered clinical trials on nicotinamide riboside that are ongoing or have been completed have used Niagen, providing scientific support for Niagen. For instance, a study published in Nature Communications in 2018 showed that nicotinamide riboside safely and effectively increased NAD+ levels in 60 healthy men and women aged 55–79; a clinical trial published in Scientific Reports in 2019 demonstrated that Niagen safely and effectively raised NAD+ levels in healthy overweight adults; and a study published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2020 indicated that nicotinamide riboside moderately improved body composition and the concentration of acetylcarnitine (a fatty acid transporter) in skeletal muscle, while also increasing metabolic rate during sleep.

NAD+ plays a central role in energy production, powering hundreds of energy-dependent metabolic processes. Meanwhile, it also plays a crucial role in cellular repair and regeneration, promoting the survival, repair, and even differentiation of stem cells into organs and tissues.

However, NAD+ levels decline with age. Studies have shown that between the ages of 30 and 70, NAD+ levels in the human body can drop by up to 65%. Low levels of NAD+ lead to mitochondrial inefficiency. This may impair the cell's ability to produce the energy required for various functions, resulting in long-term health consequences.

ChromaDex stated that the aforementioned conditions would improve after two weeks of continuous supplementation with its flagship product, Tru Niagen.

ChromaDex states that Tru Niagen is one of the most extensively researched patented supplements on the market, backed by two Nobel laureates, over 40 patents, more than 300 published scientific studies, and over 275 global research collaborations. Furthermore, Tru Niagen has been approved as a Natural Health Product by Health Canada.

Specifically, Tru Niagen works through nicotinamide riboside (NR). This is an active super-nutrient that can be absorbed through the stomach and intestines, then transported to cells throughout the body. Compared with other NAD+ precursors, NR more easily crosses cell membranes. Inside cells, NR is used to produce NAD+, which is utilized for generating cellular energy and assisting in cellular repair processes. With daily use, Tru Niagen can increase the amount of NAD+ available in the body. This is particularly important for tissues with the most vigorous metabolism and highest energy demands, such as the brain, heart, skeletal muscle, liver, kidneys, and skin, all of which require substantial amounts of NAD+ to function properly.

ChromaDex likens the process of managing NAD+ levels with Tru Niagen to “insuring cells” against the effects of time and metabolic stress, thereby benefiting organs, tissues, and systems, and ultimately enabling the human body to maintain physical health in old age.

NAD+ requirements vary by age, lifestyle, physiological stressors, and overall health status. Therefore, TRU Niagen has developed four specific product formulations in different specifications.

Among these, Tru Niagen 300mg is the company’s most popular product. The 300 mg dosage represents the minimum daily intake recommended by ChromaDex for maintaining NAD+ levels. Clinical studies have demonstrated that taking one capsule per day can increase blood NAD+ levels by 51% within two weeks, and sustained supplementation helps maintain these elevated levels over the long term.

Tru Niagen Pro 1,000mg is ChromaDex’s most potent product, specifically designed for long-term Tru Niagen customers, physicians, professional athletes, and health enthusiasts. It is suitable for users seeking to maximize their NAD+ levels. Studies have shown that taking 1,000 mg daily can increase NAD+ levels by 150% within three weeks and maintain elevated levels with continued supplementation.

Tru Niagen Immune is primarily designed for daily protection during and after periods of immune stress. According to ChromaDex, NAD+ levels may plummet by 80% when the body’s immune health is challenged, a condition that can be improved through consistent daily supplementation with NAD+. The company states that this product is the first in its category to combine proven immune-supporting nutrients—such as vitamin D, vitamin C, and zinc—with highly bioavailable curcumin and the NAD+ precursor Niagen, thereby optimizing the maintenance and function of aging cells.

Tru Niagen Immune can be taken alongside regular Tru Niagen products. Therefore, ChromaDex has designed the Tru Niagen+ Immune Bundle, stating that combining the two better optimizes NAD+ levels, allowing users to safely consume up to 2,000 mg per day.

On March 10, 2022, Tru Niagen continued to accelerate its commercialization efforts in China. ChromaDex (NASDAQ: CDXC) announced that the company had established a joint venture through its wholly-owned subsidiary, ChromaDex Asia Pacific Ventures Limited.The joint venture, formed by ChromaDex and Swire (China) Group Limited of Hong Kong, aims to accelerate the regulatory approval of Tru Niagen as a health food in mainland China and to commercialize Tru Niagen and other Niagen-containing products in China.

Following Tru Niagen’s successful registration as a health food product in the People’s Republic of China, ChromaDex Asia will enter into a new distribution agreement with Sinopharm Holding Xingsha Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd., which will supersede the cross-border distribution agreement with Sinopharm Holdings mentioned in the previous press release. Both agreements pertain to the commercialization of Tru Niagen in mainland China and its regions (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan).

In October 2023, ChromaDex began expanding into the pet longevity sector. Zesty Paws, a well-known company in the pet nutritional supplements industry, partnered with ChromaDex to launch a NAD+ precursor supplement for healthy aging in pets, featuring Niagen.This collaboration marks the company’s official entry into the field of pet longevity and extends the benefits of Niagen to animals.

In addition to its market strategy of expanding into multiple sectors and regions, ChromaDex has also achieved certain financial results.

On August 11, 2023, ChromaDex announced its financial results for the third quarter of 2023.

Relevant data show that as of September 30, 2023, ChromaDex’s total net sales amounted to $19.5 million, including $17.4 million from Tru Niagen, representing year-over-year increases of 14% and 19%, respectively; gross margin reached 61.4%, an increase of 160 basis points compared with 59.8% in the same period last year; sales and marketing expenses as a percentage of net sales were 31.0%, an improvement of 340 basis points compared with 34.4% in the same period last year; net loss was $1.0 million, or ($0.01) per share, remaining stable compared with the same period last year—a notable achievement given that the prior-year results included a one-time recognition of $2.1 million (or $0.03 per share) in employee retention tax credits; adjusted EBITDA (non-GAAP) was $0.5 million, an increase of $1.7 million compared with the same period last year.

According to Crunchbase’s official website, ChromaDex completed 10 rounds of post-IPO financing from October 2013 to October 2022, raising a total of $77.45 million.

The potential of NR in the field of anti-aging is being continuously explored, but it also faces some skepticism.

Mads V. Damgaard and Jonas T. Treebak, two scientists from the University of Copenhagen, synthesized the results of 25 existing clinical trials on nicotinamide riboside (NR) supplementation. Their findings were published in a Science subsidiary journal in an article titled “What Do We Really Know About the Effects of Nicotinamide Riboside Supplementation in Humans?”

They have raised critical concerns regarding the clinical efficacy of nicotinamide riboside (NR), noting that oral NR supplements rarely demonstrate clinically relevant benefits and that the literature tends to overstate the significance and robustness of these effects.

The authors point out that since the publication of the first exploratory human trial report on NR, many studies have focused on the safety rather than the efficacy of NR supplementation. These trials have been characterized by small sample sizes and participants who were generally healthy (although in some cases elderly or obese). In these trials, the only beneficial effect of NR with a certain degree of reproducibility was the reduction of inflammatory markers in whole blood or immune cells.

In light of this, the effects of oral nicotinamide riboside (NR) on the human body have not yet been fully explored, and its actual efficacy in anti-aging and life extension may require further rigorous verification. A key focus for future clinical research should be conducting more extensive and in-depth studies on the efficacy of NR supplementation, while carefully balancing sample size with the generalizability and diversity of participants in trial design. Nevertheless, NR has shown promise in reducing blood inflammatory markers, treating various serious diseases, and potentially managing hypertension, findings that warrant strict follow-up studies.

References:

Damgaard M V, Treebak J T. What is really known about the effects of nicotinamide riboside supplementation in humans[J]. Science Advances, 2023, 9(29): eadi4862.