Cala Health, a medical technology company that develops “wearable therapies” to tackle chronic disease, has raised $50 million in a series C round of funding from a number of big-name investors, including Alphabet’s venture capital (VC) arm GV, Novartis, Johnson & Johnson Innovation, Baird Capital, and Lux Capital, among others.
Founded in 2014, San Francisco-based Cala Health is currently focusing its efforts on “neuromodulation” therapies, delivering targeted stimulation to nerve cells through body-worn electronics to treat conditions such as essential tremor (ET). This condition, which is thought to impact around 7 million people in the U.S. alone, is often characterized by severe tremors in a person’s hands, arms, and fingers, though it can affect other parts of the body.
Cala Health had previously raised around $21 million, including its $18 million series B round, in which GV was also a participant, in 2016. With another $50 million in the bank it is now well funded to launch a “limited release” of its prescription Cala Trio therapy.
The company hasn’t divulged many details about the Cala Trio therapy program, except that it will involve a wearable electronic device.
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Above: Cala Trio
Digital health startups working to improve chronic conditions have raised a bucketload of cash over the past year or so, including the likes of Hinge Health, which raised $26 million; Solera Health, which nabbed $42 million; and Livongo, which closed a $105 million round. It’s also interesting to see GV continuing to invest in health-focused startups, as over the past year it has plowed cash into startups that are using technology to detect the early signs of strokes, carry out medical research through machine learning, and more.
Cala Health’s funding comes hot on the heels of a number of developments for the company. Perhaps most notably, back in December Cala Health finalized enrollment for what it said will be the “largest therapeutic study ever conducted in essential tremor” in the U.S.
