BURLINGAME, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cala Health, the bioelectronic medicine leader setting a new standard of patient care for chronic disease, today announced $77 million in new financing led by Ascension Ventures. New investors Dolby Family Ventures; PEAK6 Strategic Capital, a division of PEAK6 Investments; and Innovatus Capital Partners joined the round as did all existing investors. The funds will help Cala Health expand patient access and accelerate innovation, opening opportunities to explore indications beyond essential tremor, including other neurological indications like Parkinson’s disease as well as targets in psychiatry, cardiology and autoimmune disorders.
“We are honored to have Ascension Ventures join us on our journey to realize the power of bioelectronic medicine,” said Renee Ryan, CEO of Cala Health. “This investment allows us to build upon our strong foundation in treating essential tremor and develop new therapies to help more patients living with chronic disease. Our team is dedicated to closing the massive gap in patient care.”
"At Ascension Ventures, we invest in companies that are committed to changing the paradigm of care," said John Kuelper, Senior Managing Director and Head of Healthcare Technology Investing at Ascension Ventures, a strategic healthcare fund that invests on behalf of 13 of the nation's leading community health systems. "Cala Health is changing the standard of care by harnessing electricity as a therapy. The company is at the forefront of massive growth in bioelectronic medicine."
Essential tremor is a chronic nervous system disorder causing involuntary and rhythmic shaking. As one of the most common neurological disorders in the world, it affects the daily lives of an estimated 10 million people in the U.S. The condition impacts patients’ writing, eating, speaking, and many other essential abilities. Despite how widespread and debilitating the condition is, pharmacologic and surgical treatment options for patients have significant shortcomings.
Robust clinical evidence demonstrates Cala Trio as the first and only non-invasive bioelectronic therapy that is proven to reduce tremors and improve patients’ quality of life. Cala Trio is cleared by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and supported by the largest-ever clinical study of patients living with essential tremor in the world.1 The International Essential Tremor Foundation (IETF) now recognizes Cala Trio as the only effective, non-pharmacologic and non-surgical treatment option for patients living with essential tremor. Data issued by ISPOR2, The Professional Society for Health Economics and Outcomes Research (HEOR), also shows that Cala Trio is a cost-saving treatment option for patients with essential tremor.
Cala Health is changing the delivery of care for patients with movement disorders through personalized electrical stimulation, which allows patients the flexibility and freedom to stimulate on demand. With this latest round of funding, Cala Health further expands patient access in essential tremor and advances its portfolio of indications. The company will accelerate relationships with payors to continue seeking reimbursement options with Medicare, commercial payors and payor providers to bring its technology to the patients who need it most.
About Ascension Ventures
Ascension Ventures is a strategic healthcare venture firm with five funds and more than $1 billion in assets under management. The firm was launched in 2001 by Ascension, the nation’s largest Catholic and nonprofit health system, and today invests on behalf of thirteen of the nation's leading community health systems. These health system limited partners collectively operate more than 300 hospitals, have 431,000 employees and generate nearly $80 billion in annual revenue. AV collaborates with these partners to identify, invest in, and support strategically aligned private companies that are transforming the healthcare industry and enhancing the experience for patients, their families and caregivers. For more information, visit www.ascensionventures.org.
About Cala Health
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 vertically integrated commercial model is reshaping the delivery of prescription therapies. Cala Health’s lead product, Cala Trio™, is the only non-invasive prescription therapy for essential tremor. New therapies are under development in Parkinson’s disease and other indications in neurology, as well as targets in psychiatry, cardiology and autoimmune disorders. The company is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area and backed by leading investors in both healthcare and technology.
Cala Trio is indicated to aid in the transient relief of hand tremors in the treated hand following stimulation in adults with essential tremor. Please refer to the Safety Information [https://calatrio.com/#SafetyInformation] for a complete listing of warnings and cautions.
Caution: Federal law restricts this device to sale by or on the order of a physician.
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1 Isaacson, S. H., Peckham, E., Tse, W., Waln, O., Way, C., Petrossian, M. T., … Pahwa, R. (2020). Prospective Home-use Study on Non-invasive Neuromodulation Therapy for Essential Tremor. Tremor and Other Hyperkinetic Movements, 10, 29. DOI: http://doi.org/10.5334/tohm.59
2 PND44 Patient Characteristics and Comorbidities in Patients with Essential Tremor: A Retrospective Observational Study in a United States Commercially Insured and Medicare Advantage Population. Dai, D. et al. Value in Health, Volume 24, S167
