Harlequins CONKA Clinical Trial Results: What We Found

The LinkedIn message that started it all took about forty seconds to write. Seven months before a single Harlequins player had taken a shot of CONKA, we were already in conversation with Mike Lancaster, then Head of Medical at Harlequins and now Senior Physiotherapist at England Rugby, walking him through what our scientists at Durham University were actually researching. That early move, bringing Mike along on the journey before we asked him for anything, turned out to be the most important thing we did.

The Harlequins CONKA clinical trial results are now published. In a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial of 29 professional male rugby athletes, the group taking the CONKA formula showed a 14.86% enhancement in cognitive performance. The placebo group declined by 0.69% over the same period. The results were statistically significant on a paired t-test.

How a LinkedIn Message Became a Randomised Controlled Trial

We had already had ex-Harlequins players as customers before any formal conversation started. That made Harlequins a natural first call when we were recruiting for a safety and tolerance trial up at Durham. No players ended up participating in that Durham trial, but it seeded something more useful: a proper relationship with the club's medical team.

Mike Lancaster was open-minded enough to look at CONKA from two angles simultaneously. One was quality of decision-making on the pitch. The other was a potential part-solution to the head injury epidemic in professional rugby. Those are not small ambitions, and I respected that he held both of them at once.

The Trial Design: Red Group, Blue Group, Nobody Knows

Twenty-nine professional male athletes from Harlequins were split into two groups and assigned a colour: red or blue. One colour meant placebo. One meant CONKA. Neither the players, nor us at CONKA, nor the Durham University research team knew which group was which. That is the gold standard, and it matters, because it is the only way to know whether what you are seeing is real.

Eighteen participants were allocated to the CONKA formula intervention. Eleven received the placebo. After a two-week baseline period, the trial ran for four weeks, with cognitive assessments taken two, four, and six days after matches played every six or seven days.

Two assessment tools were used. The Integrated Cognitive Assessment (ICA), developed by Cognetivity Neurosciences and FDA-cleared, is a rapid categorisation task that measures information processing ability.[1] The second was a digitised version of the Sports Concussion Assessment Tool 6th Edition (SCAT 6), the official universally used concussion test, assessing memory and focus. At the time, the wellness data was tracked in a Google Form and sent back to us manually. We have come a long way since then; it is now integrated directly into the CONKA app as one system, allowing CONKA to run trials with every organisation it integrates with.

Contact exposure was measured using an IMG instrumented mouthguard recording peak linear acceleration in gravitational force (g-force) and peak rotational forces in radians per second squared. The mouthguard data made it possible to account for head acceleration events across both groups, which is the critical context when interpreting the cognitive results.

What Happened to the Players Taking CONKA Despite Head Accelerations

This is the part that matters most. Both groups were taking sub-concussive impacts across the trial period. In rugby, repeated sub-concussive head traumas cause measurable loss of cognitive performance and blood flow to the brain after just one season. The CONKA group, despite those head acceleration events, showed a 14.86% improvement in cognitive performance. The placebo group, exposed to the same contact load, declined.

That gap is not a rounding error. And it sits within a body of evidence that has now grown to 1000+ cognitive tests conducted across our trials.

CONKA Flow contains Rhodiola Rosea, Ashwagandha, Lemon Balm, Turmeric, Black Pepper, and Bilberry. Rhodiola Rosea has been studied extensively for its effects on mental fatigue and stress resilience -- see the full research summary on Examine.com. Ashwagandha has been studied extensively for its effects on stress, anxiety, and cognitive function -- see the full research summary on Examine.com. Lemon Balm has been studied extensively for its effects on mood and cognitive performance -- see the full research summary on Examine.com. Turmeric has been studied extensively for its anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects -- see the full research summary on Examine.com. CONKA Clear contains Alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine (Alpha GPC), Ginkgo Biloba, Glutathione, N-acetyl cysteine (NAC), Acetyl-L-carnitine (ALCAR), Vitamin C, Alpha Lipoic Acid, and Vitamin B12. Alpha GPC supplementation has been shown in independent research to significantly improve cognitive performance, particularly in tasks requiring attention and processing speed.[1] Alpha GPC has been studied extensively for its effects on memory and cognitive function -- see the full research summary on Examine.com. Ginkgo Biloba has been studied extensively for its effects on memory, attention, and cerebral blood flow -- see the full research summary on Examine.com. The full formulation is protected under UK patent GB2620279, and every batch is Informed Sport certified, making it safe for professional athletes under WADA rules.

You can read more about the individual ingredients at conka.io/ingredients.

The Startup Bit Nobody Puts in the Press Release

Getting into professional sport is not just a science problem. It is a regulatory and logistical one. Before Harlequins, the biggest barrier was certification. Professional clubs cannot touch a supplement that has not been batch-tested. Clearing that hurdle with Informed Sport certification was what unlocked the door.

The CONKA team was down at Harlequins regularly, sitting in waiting rooms, waiting for a gap in the schedule, feeding back data, listening to what the players thought of the product. That is what early-stage looks like. Harry Glover, co-founder, had spent ten years as a professional athlete at Team GB, Stade Français, England Rugby, and Wasps. His contacts mattered. But it was the product certification that made the conversation legitimate.

There were some moments that were less glamorous. CONKA used to come in an aluminium bottle that bore a reasonable resemblance to a soap dispenser. At Harlequins, someone applied it to their hands. In the immediate post-COVID period, this was arguably a reasonable interpretation of the packaging. We have since resolved this.

On one of the Harlequins away trips, Lennox Anyanwu, who is now an investor in CONKA, alongside Jack Willis, Max Laheef, and George Fitz Harding, to name a few other rugby stars, Lennox was stopped at airport security. The question was: what is in the aluminium bottle? His answer, that it was CONKA and perfectly safe, was correct. What we learned from that exchange is that 300ml bottles are not compatible with athletes travelling internationally. Iteration is not always glamorous.

The Results, in Context

CONKA remains the only brain performance shot used in professional sport. It is now used by 50-plus elite sports clubs, including NFL teams, England Rugby, and Premier League clubs. The Harlequins trial was the first time it had been used within professional sport officially, driven by the club rather than individual players.

Our wider trial data shows an 18.1% performance advantage over caffeine. The Harlequins double-blind result sits alongside that. Both are from controlled conditions. Neither is a testimonial.

The research team on the Harlequins trial, Tom Sawyer PhD, Horatio Price MSc, and Leticia Hosang BSc, produced a report dated 15 February 2024. The Durham University partnership that underpins that work continues alongside our ongoing trials with Cambridge University.

Flow first. Clear before it counts. That is still the system. And now there is a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial from a Premiership rugby club to sit behind it.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What did the Harlequins CONKA trial find?

A: The randomised double-blind placebo-controlled trial found that Harlequins players taking the CONKA formula improved cognitive performance by 14.86% over four weeks. The placebo group declined by 0.69% over the same period. Results were statistically significant and measured using the FDA-cleared Integrated Cognitive Assessment developed by Cognetivity Neurosciences.

Q: Is CONKA safe for professional athletes to use?

A: Yes. CONKA is Informed Sport certified, meaning every batch is independently tested and verified as free from WADA-prohibited substances. This certification was a prerequisite for use within professional sport and is the reason clubs including Harlequins were able to use it officially during the trial.

Q: What are the best brain supplements for athletes in the UK?

A: The strongest evidence points to formulations combining nootropic and adaptogenic ingredients with independent clinical validation. CONKA is currently the only brain performance shot used in professional sport in the UK, with a double-blind placebo-controlled trial conducted with Harlequins and ongoing trials with Durham and Cambridge universities.

Q: What is the difference between nootropics and adaptogens?

A: Nootropics support cognitive functions such as information processing, memory, and attention. Adaptogens help the body and brain respond to physical and psychological stress. CONKA's formulations include both categories, with ingredients such as Rhodiola Rosea and Ashwagandha sitting in the adaptogen class and Alpha GPC in the nootropic class.

Q: How was cognitive performance measured in the Harlequins trial?

A: Two tools were used. The Integrated Cognitive Assessment (ICA) by Cognetivity Neurosciences measured information processing ability. The SCAT 6, the official university-standard concussion assessment, measured memory and focus. Head impact data was collected via an IMG instrumented mouthguard recording g-force and rotational acceleration in radians per second squared.

References

1. Kerksick. "Acute Alpha-Glycerylphosphorylcholine Supplementation Enhances Cognitive Performance in Healthy Men." Nutrients. 2024. (source)