PharmaGuideAbout
The supplement industry was built to sell. Not always to protect you.
Most dietary supplements enter the US market without FDA pre-market safety testing. The catalog is enormous, the labels are confusing, and when something gets recalled, you're usually the last to find out.
We built PharmaGuide because this shouldn't be normal.
- 200,000+
- supplement labels in the source catalog, from NIH's Dietary Supplement Label Database
- 6
- scoring dimensions in every PG Score out of 100, from formulation to safety
- 2
- clinical advisors listed on our team, bringing pharmacy and nursing perspectives
- 0
- brand sponsorships, affiliate commissions, or paid placements
01 · Why we built it
This started personal.
“My father was hospitalized.”
He was already on blood pressure medication. The hospital prescribed something new — with a documented interaction with his existing prescription. A conflict that could have been caught with a simple cross-reference.
“Then it happened to me.”
After being diagnosed with a metabolic condition and starting prescription medication, I kept taking my supplements without a second thought. Then I discovered something troubling: a supplement I was taking was interfering with how my medication worked, and I only found out by accident. No warning, no flag, nobody whose job it was to notice. I manage my health closely every single day, and I still missed it. The information existed. Nobody had connected the dots.
Sean Cheick Baradji, Founder & CEO
“Every supplement decision deserves a pharmacist's second look before it deserves your money.”
PharmaGuide brings product information and stack checks together: known interaction warnings, overlapping nutrients across products, and medication and nutrient links. Core stack checks run on your device, with explanations to help you understand the results. What we can show depends on the product data and the details you enter.
In development
FDA recall alerts
We're building a way to make FDA recall notices easier to follow. FDA recall alerts are in development and are not available in the current beta.
02 · What supplement labels don't always make clear
Four common assumptions. Worth a closer look.
- Zero pre-market approval
The assumption
“FDA Approved”
Source · FDA — Information for Consumers on Using Dietary SupplementsThe truth
The FDA does not approve dietary supplements before they are sold. Manufacturers are responsible for evaluating safety and labeling. A product being on the shelf is not the same as FDA approval.
- The fairy-dusting deception
The assumption
“Proprietary Blend”
Source · Learn more · Ingredient & Quality TransparencyThe truth
Companies use "proprietary blends" to list ingredients without disclosing individual amounts. The label may not reveal the exact dose of each active ingredient — and legally, it doesn't have to. PharmaGuide still checks the ingredients listed inside the blend for interactions, and marks dose-based conclusions as limited instead of guessing the hidden amounts.
- 23,000 ER visits per year
The assumption
“It's natural, so it can't hurt me”
Source · Geller AI et al., New England Journal of Medicine (2015)The truth
Every year, supplement-related events send 23,000+ Americans to the Emergency Room. From internal bleeding to heart palpitations to acute liver injury — "natural" doesn't mean safe.
- The absorption lie
The assumption
“100% Daily Value”
Source · NIH ODS · Vitamin E fact sheetThe truth
Your body isn't a beaker. Different forms of the same vitamin can absorb differently — for example, synthetic vitamin E is absorbed less efficiently than its natural form. The label tells you what's in the bottle, not what reaches your bloodstream.
The 23,000 figure is supplement-specific. Separately, the homepage cites 4,100+ daily ER visits across all medication-related events — a broader category that includes prescription interactions.
03 · The gap we're closing
Two systems. Different paths to a warning.
A recall notice only helps if you see it and can tell whether it applies to your product. Notification routes differ, and neither path guarantees a personal alert.
If your prescription drug is recalled
Your pharmacy or manufacturer may contact you.
- Your pharmacy may hold a dispensing record
- A manufacturer, pharmacy or healthcare provider may notify you
- FDA publishes recall information
- The notice may identify specific product lots
If your supplement is recalled
You may need to check a public notice yourself.
- FDA and brands publish public recall notices
- A retailer or brand may contact customers
- The product name and lot number can matter
- There may be no direct link to your current stack
We're building FDA recall alerts to help with this gap. They are not available in the current beta.
Sources: FDA drug recall guidance and food and supplement recalls.
04 · What we believe
Four principles. Non-negotiable.
- 01
Radical transparency
Every interaction shows the mechanism, evidence level, and source. When evidence is weak or conflicting, we say so directly.
- 02
No conflicts of interest
We don't accept supplement-brand sponsorships, affiliate commissions, or paid placements. The product is the business model.
- 03
Privacy by design
Core stack checks are designed with local-first privacy safeguards. Your data stays on your device wherever possible.
- 04
Clinical perspectives
A small group, including clinicians, is testing PharmaGuide. Their feedback helps us refine the explanations and how warnings are presented.
05 · The team
Small team. Sharp focus.
Sean Cheick Baradji on LinkedIn (opens in a new tab)
Founder & CEO
B&Br Technology · Boston, MA
Built PharmaGuide after watching family members navigate medication and supplement complexity without the tools to do it safely.
Laurie Pham, PharmD
Doctor of Pharmacy · Clinical Review
15+ years pharmacovigilance
Provides a pharmacy perspective on interaction explanations, pharmacovigilance and how warnings are presented during development and beta testing.
Miriam Farez, NP
Nurse Practitioner · Patient-Education Review
Integrative health practice
Provides a nurse practitioner's perspective on patient education, wording and accessibility during development and beta testing.
Boston · Cambridge medical ecosystem.
Sound like something you need?
Join us in building something that actually matters.
Opening in waves through 2026. Be among the first to use PharmaGuide as we prepare for launch.
Writing about supplement safety, AI in health, or building as a solo founder? Founder interviews: press@pharmaguide.io. Tell us your topic and deadline, and we'll get back to you.
Keep reading
More on what we do and how.
Methodology
The information behind the results
Sources, methodology, clinical perspectives and the limits of the information available.
ReadFeatures
What PharmaGuide actually does
Product information, stack checks and ingredient transparency, with limits explained.
ReadCareers
Want to help build it?
Small team. Real clinical impact. The shapes of people we'd jump on hiring.
Read