Niagen Launches NB4168 Drug Candidate and Telehealth Platform

The Tip Desk · August 4, 2026 · 3 min read

Second-quarter net sales were $29.8 million, including $24.2 million from Tru Niagen, as the company introduced NB4168 and a Niagen Plus telehealth channel.

Niagen Bioscience, Inc. (NAGE) introduced NB4168, a proprietary oral small-molecule candidate for rare genetic diseases and aging-related disorders, initially targeting Ataxia-Telangiectasia, and launched a Niagen Plus telehealth platform with at-home injection kits in the second quarter.

The NAD+ precursor company said NB4168 is engineered to deliver substantially greater nicotinamide riboside exposure than conventional NR. It received Rare Pediatric Disease designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Orphan Medicinal Product Designation from the European Medicines Agency. The company engaged Evotec as contract research organization for preclinical and IND-enabling studies, anticipated to begin in the third quarter of 2026.

Net sales were $29.8 million, down from $31.5 million in the first quarter after that period’s 3% year-over-year increase. Tru Niagen sales were $24.2 million. Direct-to-consumer sales on the company’s website grew 23% year-over-year. Gross margin was 64.8%. Net income was $1.0 million, or $0.01 a share, after a first-quarter net income of $6.3 million that included a $4.8 million gain on the Analytical Reference Standards and Services divestiture. Adjusted EBITDA was $3.0 million.

E-commerce sales were $20.5 million, compared with $18.1 million a year earlier. Watson’s and other B2B sales were $3.6 million. Niagen ingredient sales were $5.4 million, down from $7.4 million a year earlier; pharmaceutical-grade Niagen was $0.4 million versus $1.4 million. Analytical Reference Standards and Services contributed $0.0 million after the February 2026 sale of that segment.

Sales and marketing expense was $10.1 million in the three months ended June 30, 2026, versus $8.2 million a year earlier. Operating income was $0.7 million. The company repurchased $2.8 million of common stock in the quarter. Cash and cash equivalents were $66.7 million at June 30, with no outstanding borrowings. Operating cash flow was $1.6 million in the six months ended June 30, 2026.

Niagen Plus received LegitScript certification in June 2026, which the company said allows advertisement of at-home injection kits. Olympia Pharmaceuticals was added as a 503B compound pharmacy partner. The company renamed the ChromaDex External Research Program the Niagen Research Program and appointed Abhijit Kale as Senior Director of Global External Research.

Chief Executive Officer Rob Fried said the telehealth launch and pharmaceutical program are long-term growth drivers that have evolved Niagen from a nutritional supplement business to a multi-asset anti-aging company, and that the consumer products business is the engine funding those initiatives.

For full-year 2026, the company expects e-commerce to grow 10% to 15% year-over-year and the remainder of the consumer business to perform in line with prior expectations. It said the ingredient business is expected to be lower than the prior year as some commercial partners face a more competitive market, though it expects to add ingredient partners in the near term. Niagen Plus growth and new skincare partnerships are expected to become meaningful contributors beginning in 2027. The company said it believes 2026 is an important year of strategic investment and expects operating expenses to increase as it invests across commercial, research and administrative functions.