Cala Health Attracts $50 Million in Funding

Cala Health has completed the initial closing of an oversubscribed $50 million growth round, co-led by Vertex Growth Fund and Nexus NeuroTech Ventures. All existing Cala investors participated in the round, including Action Potential, Johnson & Johnson (through its corporate venture capital organization, Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC Inc.), Lightstone, Lux Capital, GV (Google Ventures), OSF Ventures, Ascension Ventures, TriVentures, Reimagined Ventures, Peak6, and Fiscus.

“This round of funding will propel Cala’s commercialization trajectory, notably with the recent positive Medicare Coverage Determination for Cala TAPS (Transcutaneous Afferent Patterned Stimulation) Therapy. It allows us to broaden patient and physician awareness of this treatment,” Cala Health CEO Deanna Harshbarger said. “We are very excited about the support from both our legacy and new investors who believe in our vision and first-in-class, on-demand technology to address tremor relief.”

Cala is continuing to build strong clinical evidence to expand patient access for its neurostimulation therapy. The results of a study by CVS Health, presented at the Movement Disorders Congress last year, concluded that TAPS therapy offers substantial benefits for patients with essential tremor (ET) in reducing ET-related healthcare resource utilization (HCRU), healthcare costs, and improving clinical outcomes.

ET impacts more than 7 million people in the United States and is characterized by uncontrollable movement that can make critical daily activities very difficult. Drugs are most used to treat ET, but they can cause a range of unwanted side effects such as fatigue, nausea and depression and may not provide desired outcomes. Surgical options like deep brain stimulation or focused ultrasound ablation can be effective but are invasive procedures that carry the risk of potentially irreversible side effects.

The Cala kIQ System with TAPS Therapy is the only non-invasive, U.S. Food and Drug Administration-cleared, wearable device that delivers effective therapy for action hand tremor relief in people with essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease. The TAPS device is clinician-prescribed and clinically proven to safely and effectively reduce action hand tremors. The Cala kIQ device treats tremor by sensing each patient’s unique tremor signature and delivering individualized stimulation to the nerves on the wrist that then reach the brain to counteract tremor.

Cala Health is a bioelectronic medicine company transforming the standard of care for chronic disease. The company’s wearable neuromodulation therapies merge innovations in neuroscience and technology to deliver individualized peripheral nerve stimulation, and its direct-to-home digital durable medical equipment (DME) platform is improving the delivery of prescription therapies. New therapies are under development in neurology, cardiology, and psychiatry. Founded in 2014, the company is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area and backed by investors in both healthcare and technology.

The Cala kIQ device is indicated to help temporarily relieve hand tremors in the treated hand after stimulation in adults with essential tremor. The Cala kIQ device is specifically indicated to aid in the temporary relief of postural and kinetic hand tremor symptoms that impact some activities of daily living in the treated hand following stimulation in adults with Parkinson’s disease. The Cala kIQ device delivers Transcutaneous Afferent Patterned Stimulation (TAPS) therapy.

Vertex Growth partners with entrepreneurs and promising companies on the cusp of growth. The firm provides expansion capital to realize the companies’ vision of creating a category champion. Part of Vertex’s global network of venture capital funds, Vertex Growth accesses opportunities emerging from innovation hubs worldwide and drives significant value by working closely with the Vertex ecosystem of portfolio companies and partners. For more information about Vertex Growth, please visit: https://vertexgrowth.com

Nexus NeuroTech Ventures is an investment firm advancing pioneering technologies—including medical devices, software, diagnostics, technology-enabled care services, and research tools—for brain disorders. Spanning seed through crossover, Nexus invests with the goal of improving the lives of patients affected by neurodevelopmental, neurodegenerative, and neuropsychiatric conditions.