In one study, the results of which were published in the January, 2007 issue of the Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society, participants experienced a 15- to 40-per-cent improvement in their cognitive functions after using the program, with similar techniques to those of Memory@Work.
But the challenges ahead for Cogniciti are clear. For one thing, most people aren't sure what to make of brain fitness software. Sixty-five per cent of people surveyed in the 2009 State of the Brain Fitness Software Market Report from U.S.-based market research firm SharpBrains agreed/strongly agreed with this statement: “I don't really know what to expect from products making brain claims.”
Aside from working in a research field that remains murky, the company faces roadblocks common to any new business. “We're really at stage one,” Mr. Melman says. “The key challenge will be to determine what's the right strategic plan,” he says. “That starts with ensuring we have both the right internal and external people involved.”
And hence the Baycrest-MaRS partnership. Baycrest brings its world-renowned research to the company. In January, 2009, an international panel led by the University of California at Berkeley ranked the institution as a world-class cognitive neuroscience program and called its scientists “probably the best in the world.”
Baycrest brings another must-have to Cogniciti: financial backing through its Centre for Brain Fitness, which launched last year with a $10-million investment from the Ontario Ministry of Research and Innovation, plus $10-million in donor support. MaRS offers expertise in other areas, such as branding and marketing, and access to experts in the gaming and employee-benefit fields. MaRS provides executive leadership for Cogniciti.
The company currently has no dedicated staff of its own, but plans to assemble a team as it becomes more established. In the meantime, it will hire key players on a contract basis, in addition to drawing on members of MaRS and Baycrest to oversee business and product development.
Cogniciti's priority, Mr. Reichman emphasizes, is to sell products that are scientifically proven to work. “We're not going to get entangled in something like what's happened with homeopathic remedies or nutriceuticals, where companies can put out products that are not scientifically validated,” he says. “If the products can't be demonstrated to be effective, we don't want to introduce them.”
The team is confident in Memory@Work's validity based on Baycrest's previous positive studies, says Ms. Litinski. Further studies on Cogniciti's products are planned for 2010 and will be published in peer-reviewed scientific journals.
Beyond scientific validity, Cogniciti's goal is to make products that are engaging. “Even if it's obvious they benefit you, if they're not fun, it's hard to get people to do them,” Mr. Reichman says.
In tandem with Memory@Work, Cogniciti is developing more general brain exercises and games that can be played on Web-based and hand-held devices, expected to be commercially available in 2011. Immediate products focus on baby boomers, but “since brain aging begins at birth, we may branch out beyond that population,” Mr. Reichman says.
Perhaps the biggest challenge Cogniciti faces is the steep competition, says Mr. Melman, who points to gaming giant Nintendo and other players like Posit Science. And they've got something Cogniciti doesn't. “There's a tremendous amount of capital there, much more so than what Cogniciti has,” he says. “In terms of competitiveness, we're uncompetitive at this point. We don't even have a product in the market. But I have no doubt that's temporary.”
