Brenden Dougherty, a visionary leader in the nutraceutical industry, has spent the past 10 years refining and developing business concepts in traditional and emerging markets. His early professional background in finance for UBS and PPM America instilled a strong analytical background and understanding of business modeling and growth strategies. In 2014, he combined his passion for cultural travel and business acumen into his own concept, OneGlobe Citizen, a Chicago-based tech/media platform that predated Airbnb in connecting travelers with cultural activities and local favorites.
By 2016, the market had shifted, so Brenden applied his successful growth strategies to early-stage businesses needing strong visionary and operational leadership. He saw a gap where companies were scaling through outdated advertising and solely seeking capital rather than strategic partnerships to expand exponentially while requiring less capital to launch. This concept, venture development, took off with the rise of fractional leadership services. His strategic growth ideas and interpersonal leadership catalyzed many clients at his consultancy, Team Shift, founded in 2016. This ultimately led him to the nutraceutical space, where he currently leads MDbio – The Doctors Brand™.
MDbio is a groundbreaking pharmaceutical alternative company redefining supplements with clinically-backed plant medicines. When Brenden first met the founding physicians, including Dr. Babak Larian, Department Chair of head, neck and throat surgeries at Cedars Sinai, he knew MDbio converged his passion for developing meaningful companies with a culture prioritizing patient outcomes.
In 2012, Dr. Larian performed invasive tumor removal surgeries at Cedars Sinai. He noticed older patients statistically likely to struggle with recovery were actually faring better than younger, healthier ones undergoing identical procedures. Further analysis revealed patients using plant medicines, often cannabis, had superior outcomes – faster healing, less inflammation, and greater emotional stability. Plant-based medications erased weeks from recovery after traumatic healthcare events. This represented a paradigm shift combining pharmaceuticals with milder yet effective plants.
Inspired, Brenden foresaw incredible benefits if consumers had plant-based medicines approved by healthcare professionals. The challenge was formulating effective, scientifically validated medications. With over 99% of supplements untested and under 1% demonstrating statistical significance, this was no small undertaking. For over 3 years, MDbio, under Brenden’s leadership, partnered with experts to develop sophisticated internal clinical research to test formulations on chronically ill patients with sleeplessness, stress and pain. With patient outcomes guiding them, MDbio refined products that garnered life-changing results.
This was only the first step toward statistically significant clinical results at scale. In partnership with a leading clinical research organization, MDbio began unbiased clinical testing of their sleep aid MDsleep in 2022. With the largest-ever non-melatonin cohort (620 participants), MDsleep proved not just statistically significant but groundbreaking for clinically effective sleep, stress, anxiety and well-being.
Achieving this first-ever clinically proven hemp sleep aid took four years, but for Brenden, it’s just the beginning. With two more products awaiting 2024 outcomes, MDbio is poised to lead clinically proven nutraceuticals that will transform health. Brenden’s drive stems from his purpose – creating joy for consumers relying on hope during tough times.
