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Veteran life sciences venture capitalist named new CEO at Cala Health

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Renee Ryan is leaving the venture capital world behind to take the reins at Cala Health, a promising California startup that has developed a wearable for treating essential tremor among other neurological conditions.

Ryan has led investments into medtech startups most recently as vice president of venture investments with Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC where she worked from June 2011 till mid-August. During her tenure, she led investments in 16 companies, including participating in a Series A round at Cala Health according to a news release from the company.

In addition, Ryan helped to create five new entities as a result of several Johnson & Johnson joint ventures, for instance, the robotics startup Verb Surgical created as a result of a JV with Verily, Alphabet’s life science business.

At Cala Health, Ryan is taking over the top job from Kate Rosenbluth the founder of the Burlingame, California company. Rosenbluth will continue at the company as chief scientific officer and as a member of the board of directors.

“As an investor in Cala Health, I played the role as ‘coach’ and joining the Company as CEO, I now play the role of “player/coach,” Ryan wrote in an email. “I am joining a fantastic team that is highly committed to serving patients with our innovation bioelectronic medicine and business model.  It continues my journey to get closer to patients.”

In May, Cala Health raised $50 million to advance the commercialization of Cala Trio, a wearable device meant to address hand tremors in essential tremor patients. Unlike pharmaceutical companies that attempt to treat disease by altering body chemistry, Cala focuses on delivering mild electronic pulses and target the human body’s electric circuitry. Neuromodulation is a way to use electric signals and stimulate the nervous system as a pathway to treat chronic disease. It bills itself as a bioelectric medicine company.

The FDA gave de novo clearance for the company’s first-generation Cala ONE product in April of 2018 and in October later gave 510(k) clearance for the technology in the updated Cala Trio device.

“I’m looking forward to bringing the first therapy, Cala Trio to essential tremor patients in the US with our innovative business model,” Ryan wrote in an email. “We have the unique opportunity to deliver this prescription therapy directly to the patient through a connected medical device. In addition, we can utilize this platform for further research to expand the treatment model in other chronic diseases.

In late September, the company is set to report results of the largest US therapeutic study in essential tremor that Cala Health completed earlier this year, at the International Congress of Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders in Nice, France.

Photo: Johnson & Johnson Innovation – JJDC

 

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