Article: What Is a Patent? Types, Uses, and Why They Matter for NAD+
What Is a Patent? Types, Uses, and Why They Matter for NAD+
Expert-reviewed by Philip Redpath, Ph.D.
Key Takeaways
- Utility patents protect multiple dimensions of an invention: Composition of Matter, Crystal Morphology, Method of Manufacture, and Method of Use patents collectively safeguard a molecule, its crystalline form, how it’s made, and how it’s applied.
- Other patent types matter too: Design patents protect visual or ornamental features of a product, while Plant patents protect novel botanical varieties.
- Layered portfolios create defensibility: The strongest IP strategies, like that built around nicotinamide riboside (NR), layer multiple patent types to protect a single ingredient and its derivatives from multiple angles.
- Patents reflect scientific investment: Strong portfolios are backed by research, clinical studies, and university partnerships, signaling credibility and innovation.
- Patents guide consumers: Understanding which ingredients are IP-protected can help distinguish rigorously developed products from imitations.
From Thomas Edison's electric light to Alexander Graham Bell's telephone to the Wright Brothers’ aircraft, most people associate patents with civilization-defining inventions. But patents quietly shape nearly every modern industry—from pharmaceuticals and technology to nutrition and wellness—often without consumers ever noticing. They are among the most powerful and least visible drivers of innovation.
At their core, patents grant inventors a temporary, legally recognized right to exclude others from making, using, or selling an invention. This protection gives researchers the confidence to invest years (or often decades) of effort, research, and experimentation in developing something novel, knowing that their work will be protected the minute it reaches the market. Without this assurance, the incentive to fund costly research and development would dramatically diminish.
Patents also carry practical implications for consumers, offering a signal of quality, credibility, and scientific rigor. For example, a patented ingredient in the supplement space typically reflects extensive development—a level of reliability that unprotected alternatives may lack.
A clear example is with nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+). As a vital coenzyme central to cellular energy production and repair,¹ NAD+ maintenance has become a focal point of healthy aging and longevity—and its patent landscape tells a compelling story about how intellectual property (IP) protection can shape an entire ingredient category, from scientific innovation to product development.
Overall, understanding how these patents work—particularly in the world of NAD+ and its precursors—can provide useful context for researchers, healthcare professionals, and consumers alike who are seeking to better evaluate the NAD+ space. In this article, learn more about the fundamentals of patents—what they are, how they work, and why they matter—using NAD+ and its precursors as real-world examples.
The Intellectual Property Landscape: Where Patents Fit In
Intellectual property (IP) is an umbrella term for the legal protections that allow scientists, inventors, or companies to safeguard their novel creations. The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) describes IP as “creations of the mind.” It encompasses four main categories: trademarks, trade secrets, copyrights, and patents.
Trademarks protect brand names, logos, slogans, and other identifiers that distinguish a certain company’s products or services—like Nike’s slogan “Just Do It.” They can last indefinitely as long as the mark is actively used and defended. On the other hand, trade secrets protect a company’s confidential information, including proprietary formulas, processes, or even strategies that have economic value. While trademarks require public disclosure, trade secrets do not—so trade secrets can theoretically last indefinitely, provided the information remains secret.
The third type of IP is copyrights, which safeguard original creative works like books, plays, movies, architecture, music, visual art, software, code, and other forms of art. Copyright protection typically lasts for the life of the creator plus a set number of years after death—often 70 years.
Lastly, patents are used to protect new inventions, processes, designs, machines, or compositions of matter. Like trademarks, patents require public disclosure—but in exchange, inventors receive a temporary monopoly on their invention, typically lasting 20 years. During that window, no one else can make, use, or sell the patented invention without permission. Once the patent expires, that knowledge enters the public domain. This trade-off—transparency in exchange for protection—is what makes patents the most relevant form of IP for scientific and product innovation. In the context of NAD+, patents play a role in shaping ingredient development, product quality, and research investment.
The Purpose of a Patent: Encouraging Innovation and Protecting Inventors
Patents grant their holders exclusive rights to make, use, sell, or license an invention. In the U.S., patents are issued by the USPTO, while other countries have their own patent offices. Internationally, researchers or companies can seek protection through the Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT), which allows inventors to file a single international application that streamlines the process of seeking patent protection in multiple countries.
This exclusivity is temporary by design. For example, utility patents generally last 20 years from the filing date, while other types (like design patents) have shorter terms of around 15 years. During these periods, no one else may make, use, sell, or license the invention without the patent holder’s permission. This temporary monopoly allows researchers and companies the time and confidence to invest in development. Once the patent expires, anyone may freely make, use, or sell the invention without needing a license, as the patent’s exclusive rights have ended. However, even if one patent has expired, other related patents may still be in force and could prevent full use of the product without obtaining permission.
Patents also confer credibility. USPTO recognition confirms that an invention meets the standards of novelty, usefulness, and non-obviousness. Importantly, patents cannot cover scientific principles, natural phenomena, or abstract ideas. For example, while Isaac Newton discovered the law of gravity, he could not have patented gravity itself.
What Makes Something Patentable? The Three Core Criteria
To qualify for patent protection, an invention must meet three criteria:
- Novelty: The invention must be new. If the idea, composition, or process has already been publicly disclosed, it can’t be patented.
- Non-obviousness: The invention must not be readily apparent or predictable to a person having ordinary skill in the art (POSITA). A technically new idea can still be rejected if it’s considered obvious or a variation of existing knowledge.
- Utility: The invention must have a practical purpose or tangible benefit.
Timing is also important. In the U.S., companies filing for patent protection have a one-year grace period if a product has already been commercialized or publicly disclosed before filing a patent application. Public disclosure could be in the form of seminars, meetings, posters, abstracts, published theses, journal articles, website content, blogs, email messages, and oral presentations. Missing this window can mean losing the chance to secure protection entirely. Other countries have their own guidelines on grace periods and public disclosure, so each jurisdiction’s requirements should be reviewed individually before any disclosure is made.
Overall, understanding these requirements highlights why obtaining a patent is challenging and why only truly novel, useful, and non-obvious inventions are protected.
The Three Main Types of Patents: An Overview
Patents fall into three main categories: utility, design, and plant patents.
Design patents protect the ornamental or aesthetic features of a product—its visual appearance rather than its function. Alternatively, plant patents protect new varieties of asexually reproduced plants and are primarily used in agriculture and consumer goods.
Utility patents, by far the most common and commercially significant of the three, protect new inventions, processes, machines, and compositions of matter. They are the backbone of scientific and product innovation—and the primary focus of the sections that follow.
Utility Patents: The Most Common, Complex, and Commercially Important Patent Type
Utility patents are the broadest and most frequently filed category of patents. Researchers, companies, and inventors in these fields rely heavily on utility patents to safeguard their discoveries.
Several subcategories of utility patents exist, each designed to protect a distinct dimension of an invention. Ordered roughly by strength and enforceability, these include: Composition of Matter, Crystal Morphology, Method of Manufacture, and Method of Use.
Composition of Matter
Composition of Matter patents protect the specific molecular structure of a compound or a unique combination of ingredients. These patents cover the compound itself, including its chemical identity or formulation.
These types of patents provide very strong protection for new compounds or formulations that have not previously existed, which can prevent others from making, using, or selling that molecule without permission (regardless of how it might be used).
For this reason, Composition of Matter patents are often considered the strongest and most valuable type, especially in the pharmaceutical and supplement industries, as it means a company could essentially “own” a molecule with exclusive rights to a specific compound or formulation.
Crystal Morphology
Crystal Morphology patents are a specialized form of Composition of Matter protection that protects specific crystalline forms of a molecule. These patents focus on the particular structural arrangement that a molecule takes when it forms crystals, rather than the chemical identity of the compound.
The same molecule can exist in multiple crystalline forms (known as polymorphs), each with distinct physical properties such as bioavailability, dissolution rate, stability, or solubility. These differences are particularly relevant in pharmaceutical development and supplement formulation, as a certain crystalline form may be chosen because it improves how a compound is manufactured, stored, or absorbed in the body. Therefore, protecting a specific crystalline morphology can provide important IP protection around formulations designed to enhance stability, performance, or delivery.
Method of Manufacture
Method of Manufacture patents protect the specific processes, techniques, or conditions used to produce a compound or product—not the compound itself.
Notably, two companies can produce the same end product while holding separate patents on their respective manufacturing processes. A classic example is synthetic vitamin C: multiple companies produce the same molecule (ascorbic acid) using different fermentation or chemical synthesis processes,² each of which may be independently patented.
This means that even if a competitor is able to produce the same molecule, they cannot legally replicate a patented manufacturing process without permission.
Because manufacturing methods directly influence product quality, purity, and consistency, Method of Manufacture patents protect proprietary production techniques even when the final product is shared.
Method of Use
Method of Use utility patents protect how a compound, product, or invention is used or applied, rather than the compound itself. While narrower in scope than the types above, they are highly versatile: the same molecule can receive multiple Method of Use patents if new applications are discovered over time. A drug initially developed for one condition, for example, may later receive a separate Method of Use patent for an entirely different therapeutic application.
Bridging It All Together: A Real-World Example Using Nicotinamide Riboside
Nicotinamide riboside (NR)—a form of vitamin B3 that functions as an NAD+ precursor—offers a compelling illustration of how these four patent types can stack to defend a single ingredient from every angle, resulting in a patent portfolio with layers of protection.
Composition of Matter patents cover the NR molecule itself, while Crystal Morphology patents protect specific crystalline forms, such as nicotinamide riboside chloride (NRCl), a stable crystalline form commonly used in dietary supplements, and valued for its stability and manufacturing.
Method of Manufacture patents then protect the proprietary process used to produce NRCl—so even if another company were to produce NRCl, it could not legally replicate the same patented production process.
Lastly, Method of Use patents cover specific applications, such as a recently granted patent for Niagen IV, which covers intravenous formulations of NRCl designed to increase NAD+ levels while minimizing pain and discomfort during administration. (This particular patent will be explored in greater detail later in the article.)
This layered approach—molecule, crystalline form, process, application—demonstrates how a single ingredient can be defended comprehensively, and explains why patent portfolios in the NAD+ space can encompass dozens or even hundreds of patents revolving around a single compound.
Patentability in Practice: What NMN’s Journey Reveals
Nicotinamide mononucleotide (NMN) provides a real-world example of how patent strategy and timing can have major consequences in the NAD+ supplement space. Like NR, NMN is a precursor to NAD+, but its path has been more complicated by its simultaneous development as a pharmaceutical drug.
MetroBiotech, a biotechnology company, holds multiple patent families covering NMN synthesis, formulations, and therapeutic applications, demonstrating that NMN is far from an unprotected ingredient. Separately, NMN’s simultaneous development as a pharmaceutical drug led the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to classify it as a drug rather than a supplement in November 2022, a designation that was reversed in September 2025 (for a full account of that decision, see the FDA’s reversal on the NMN ban).
Even following that reversal, the existing patent landscape means companies selling NMN as a supplement still risk infringing active patents—a reminder that IP strategy can shape (and, in some cases, constrain) the commercial viability of an entire ingredient category.
Patents in the NAD+ Space: A Case Study in Strategic Intellectual Property
NR is a prime example of how a carefully constructed IP strategy can shape an ingredient category, establishing broad, defensible protection from the ground up.
Niagen Bioscience, the company behind Niagen—the branded form of NR, or more specifically, NRCl—emerged as a pioneer and global authority in NR intellectual property. By moving early to secure patents with the USPTO and then expanding into major international markets, they established a defensible global position around the ingredient.
IP protection for NR goes back to the early 2010s and eventually expanded into China, Europe, Australia, and Canada, creating a competitive moat long before the broader market caught up. Some foundational patents were co-developed with academic institutions, showing how university-industry partnerships can boost both scientific credibility and IP strength.
Over time, the NR portfolio has grown beyond the core molecule to cover NRCl and other salt forms, key process intermediates, and crystal form patents protecting specific physical structures. Today, NR is protected by over 65 patents globally, showing how a carefully layered IP strategy can defend a single ingredient from several angles.
Inside the Nicotinamide Riboside Portfolio: A Molecule-by-Molecule Breakdown
The true depth of the NR patent portfolio becomes even clearer when examined molecule by molecule, revealing a comprehensive web of protections that spans salt forms, crystal structures, manufacturing processes, and methods of use across a growing family of NAD+ precursors.
As commercial development has advanced, so too has the portfolio. Recently granted Composition of Matter patents now cover newer NR salt forms—including NR malate and NR tartrate—specifically for use in nutritional supplements, illustrating how a well-managed IP strategy evolves in step with the science. The broader portfolio also extends to a wide range of additional salt forms, including carboxylic acid, dicarboxylic acid, phosphate, sulfate, and carbonate salts, though many are not yet commercially available.
The practical implication is significant: no company other than Niagen Bioscience can produce NR—including NRCl, NR malate, NR tartrate, or other salt forms—at commercial scale without potentially infringing one or more of these patents. This protection extends through 2034 for various NR and NR triacetate (NRT) salt forms. Crystal Morphology patents further strengthen this coverage by protecting the specific physical structures of both NRT chloride and nicotinamide acid riboside (NAR), both backed by over 40 granted patents.
The portfolio also includes additional Composition of Matter patents for high-purity versions of dihydronicotinamide riboside (NRH) and dihydronicotinic acid riboside (NARH), next-generation NAD+ precursors whose claims apply when used in foods, dietary supplements, and pharmaceuticals. NRH is protected by 40 granted patents.
Method of Manufacture patents independently protect the production processes for NR, NRT, and NRH, while Method of Use patents cover the application of NRH for increasing NADH and NRT for increasing NAD+ levels in the body. Together, these patents secure some of the most commercially significant dimensions of how these compounds are produced and why they are used—adding further layers to an already comprehensive portfolio.
Beyond NR and its derivatives, the portfolio extends to NMNH, the reduced form of NMN, which is protected by 10 granted patents. This illustrates that Niagen Bioscience’s commitment to IP leadership spans the broader NAD+ precursor landscape, not just a single molecule, establishing a formidable barrier to competition across the space.
Expanding the Intellectual Property Moat: Delivery Systems and the Next Frontier of NAD+ Patents
As the science around NAD+ precursors grows, companies are increasingly looking beyond the ingredients themselves to also protect how these compounds are delivered. When a specific delivery format paired with an active ingredient produces a novel, data-supported health benefit, it can form the basis for a new Method of Use patent.
A recent example is the U.S. patent covering methods of use of intravenous and injectable formulations of NR, which protects not just the ingredient but the specific delivery format and its measurable clinical advantages—including faster infusion times and improved tolerability compared to traditional NAD+ IV formulations. Clinical data demonstrating advantages such as faster infusion times and improved tolerability compared to traditional NAD+ IV formulations reinforce both the scientific and commercial value of the patent.³'⁴
As the NAD+ space continues to evolve, delivery innovation will remain a key component of IP strategy. Patents in this area highlight not only ongoing scientific progress but also a long-term commitment to establishing defensible, commercially viable products.
From the Lab to the Label: Patents, Clinical Research, and Consumer Trust
Building a strong patent portfolio is only part of the story—equally important is how patents interact with clinical research, marketing, and the trust consumers place in a product. A patent granted from a respected authority like the USPTO serves as a powerful credibility signal, confirming that an ingredient has been independently recognized as novel, non-obvious, and useful.
Clinical research and patent strategy are closely linked. Generating human clinical data not only supports marketing claims but can also form the basis for new Method of Use patents, as previously unknown health benefits are discovered and validated.
A multi-layered patent portfolio—one that spans the molecule and its physical forms, manufacturing process, and applications—is one of the clearest indicators that a brand has invested seriously in its science—distinguishing rigorously developed, IP-protected ingredients from commodity alternatives.
Conclusion: Why Patents Matter for Innovation and Consumers
Patents come in many forms, each protecting a different aspect of an invention. Utility patents—spanning Composition of Matter, Crystal Morphology, Method of Manufacture, and Method of Use—collectively safeguard a molecule, its physical form, how it’s made, and how it’s applied. Design patents protect aesthetic features, while plant patents protect novel botanical varieties.
These protections are far more than just legal formalities. They reflect years or decades of scientific investment, from basic research and clinical trials to university partnerships. The strongest portfolios, like that of NR, layer multiple patent types together, creating a defensible moat around a single ingredient and its derivatives.
The patent landscape continues to evolve alongside the science—from foundational molecule patents to crystal form protections, next-generation precursors like NRH and NAR, and now delivery innovations in the IV and injectable space—signaling that the most innovative companies are always looking ahead.
For consumers interested in health and longevity, understanding patents can help distinguish rigorously developed, IP-protected ingredients from imitations. Ultimately, it is the relentless innovation of pioneering companies—driving discoveries about novel ingredients in emerging fields—that defines true thought leadership and gives their patent portfolios lasting significance.
References
- Covarrubias, A. J., Perrone, R., Grozio, A., & Verdin, E. (2021). NAD+ metabolism and its roles in cellular processes during ageing. Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology, 22(2), 119–141. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41580-020-00313-x
- Yang, W., & Xu, H. (2018). Industrial Biotechnology of Vitamins, Biopigments, and Antioxidants. 161–192. https://doi.org/10.1002/9783527681754.ch7
- Hawkins, J., Idoine, R., Kwon, J., Shao, A., Dunne, E., Hawkins, E., Dawson, K., & Nkrumah-Elie, Y. (2024). Randomized, placebo-controlled, pilot clinical study evaluating acute Niagen®+ IV and NAD+ IV in healthy adults. medRxiv, 2024.06.06.24308565. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.06.06.24308565
- Reyna, K., Heinzen, G., Patel, N., Ritter, M., Siojo, A., Legere, H., & Pojednic, R. (2026). Intravenous infusion of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD+) versus nicotinamide riboside (NR): a retrospective tolerability pilot study in a real-world setting. Frontiers in Aging, 7, 1652582. https://doi.org/10.3389/fragi.2026.1652582