Founded in 1999 by Frank Jaksch, ChromaDex began as a standards company serving the natural products industry. The company expanded its operations by acquiring licensed patents from
Dartmouth College,
Cornell University, and
Washington University in St. Louis regarding
nicotinamide riboside, which it markets and sells as an ingredient under the brand name Niagen. In 2015,
Robert "Rob" Fried joined ChromaDex's board of directors. Niagen Bioscience is traded on the NASDAQ (as NAGE), as of March 2025, and was added to the U.S. Small Cap Russell 2000 Index in June 2018. In March 2017, the company acquired HealthSpan Research LLC and its product Tru Niagen, a standalone nicotinamide riboside supplement, sold directly to U.S. consumers. Following this acquisition, Rob Fried was appointed president and Chief Operating Officer of ChromaDex. Also in 2017, ChromaDex raised $48 million to support research and development. In April 2018, Rob Fried was appointed chief executive officer of ChromaDex, succeeding Frank Jaksch, who transitioned to the position of Executive Chairman. On March 19, 2025, ChromaDex, Corp. was officially renamed Niagen Bioscience. == Research and development ==