Cala Health, a wearable neuromodulation therapy startup focused on chronic diseases, has closed a $50 million Series C financing round.
Novartis, Baird Capital, LifeSci Venture Partners, TriVentures and other unnamed backers participated, as did returning investors JJDC, Lux Capital, Lightstone Ventures, Action Potential Venture Capital, dRx Capital and GV.
WHAT THEY DO
Stanford University spinout Cala Health has created a wearable neuromodulation therapy indicated for essential tremor, with other offerings under development focused on neurology, cardiology and psychiatry.
The company previously raised $18 million back in 2016, and earlier this year signed a licensing deal with Partners Healthcare affiliate Massachusetts General Hospital that gave the startup access to a new nerve stimulation platform. In April of last year it announced FDA De Novo clearance for its first prescription nerve stimulator for transient relief of hand tremors among adults with essential tremor.
WHAT IT’S FOR
Cala wrote in its announcement that the funding will kickstart the market launch of Cala Trio, its wearable hand tremor therapy, as well as buff up its therapeutic pipeline.
MARKET SNAPSHOT
Much of the wearable neuromodulation market is focused on chronic pain reduction. For wearables, NeuroMetrix’s smartphone-friendly Quell 2.0 received a major facelift not too long ago, while SPR Therapeutics picked up 510(k) clearance for its percutaneous nerve stimulation treatment last summer.
Others have also employed wearables to tackle tremors associated with Parkinson’s disease. These products, which include Global Kinetics Corporation’s wrist-worn motion tracker, are often more focused on observing and recording symptoms as opposed to delivering therapy.
Liftware, company focused on smart silverware that cancels out essential tremor to improve quality of life, was acquired by Google back in 2014 and now operates as a business within Verily.
