Cala Health, a bioelectric medicine company, raised $50 million in a growth round, with participation from existing vendors including Johnson & Johnson Innovation, OSF Ventures and Ascension Ventures, among others.
The round, which was co-led by Vertex Growth Fund and Nexus NeuroTech Ventures, will help the company accelerate efforts to bring its products to market.
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The Cala kIQ System with transcutaneous afferent patterned stimulation (TAPS) therapy is the only non-invasive, wearable device with Food and Drug Administration clearance that treats action hand tremor for people with essential tremor and Parkinson’s disease. It senses a patient’s individual tremor signature and stimulates the nerves in the wrist to reach the brain and counteract tremor. The therapy only provides short-term relief.
In June, the company announced that the device received Medicare approval for coverage for essential tremor patients. CVS Health published a study in the journal Tremor and Other Hyperkinetic Movements in October 2023 that found TAPS therapy can lower healthcare costs and improve clinical outcomes.
A Cala Health study published in the same journal in 2020 showed that nine out of 10 participants saw a reduction in tremor after a 40-minute session with the device and most had relief that lasted more than an hour after the therapy. However, 18% of patients experienced wrist discomfort, skin irritation and some pain.
Cala Health was founded in 2014 and is headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. Its other investors include Google Ventures, Action Potential, Lightstone, Lux Capital, TriVentures, Reimagined Ventures, Peak6 and Fiscus.
