Michael Barbella, Managing Editor05.11.22
Cala Health is expanding its commercial management team to accelerate growth and fuel continued innovations. The company's new hires are charged with broadening Cala’s product platform and further expanding affordable access for patients with tremor. The new executives come from various well-known companies, including iRhythm, Johnson & Johnson, Boston Scientific Corp., Medtronic, and Google.
Cala also announced a new, larger headquarters in San Mateo, Calif.—a LEED-certified building that will support the company's rapid growth.
The new hires include:
“I’m excited to be part of such an innovative and patient-centric company that is freeing people from the burden of chronic disease, especially during this period of accelerated growth,” said Biehn. “Cala’s team is dedicated to building a commercial organization that makes it easier for patients to access the life-changing Cala therapy and helps physicians and neurology practices raise the standard of care on how they treat essential tremor.”
The company has nearly doubled its headcount since commercializing Cala transcutaneous afferent patterned stimulation (TAPS) therapy in September 2019.
“As CFO, my priority will be to focus commercial resources to maximize sales and marketing productivity, and ultimately build a predictable, repeatable, and scalable go-to-market model to establish Cala as the new standard of care,” said Gallagher.
Cala 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’s lead product, Cala Trio which delivers TAPS therapy, 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 also announced a new, larger headquarters in San Mateo, Calif.—a LEED-certified building that will support the company's rapid growth.
The new hires include:
- Doug Biehn, chief commercial officer: Biehn previously served as executive vice president of Marketing responsible for leading the growth strategy for iRhythm Technologies, one of the fastest-growing digital health companies. He also served as chief operating officer of AliveCor Inc., a pioneer in AI-enabled ECG detection ranked by Fast Company as one of the most innovative healthcare companies in 2017, and chief marketing officer at Blue Shield of California, where he helped achieve the fastest growing Blue Plan nationwide. Biehn is a board advisor for a number of early-stage digital health companies as well as volunteers as a mentor for the Stanford Graduate School of Business Lean Launchpad program.
- Tim Gallagher, chief financial officer: Gallagher has more than 20 years of experience working at companies that produce physical products, including Amazon's hardware division, Lab126, and Google. Most recently, he was the CFO at a London-based hardware startup producing electronic keyboards. He started in contract manufacturing specializing in supply chain and operations and has over eight years of international experience in various European countries.
- Jeron Evans, vice president, Sales: Evans joins Cala Health after previously serving as vice president and global head of the Psoriasis Franchise at UCB BioPharma, where he was responsible for building and leading the U.S. dermatology business including sales, marketing, and medical teams. He then went on to lead a global commercial team managing a portfolio of dermatology assets. Prior to UCB, Evans was senior vice president of Commercial Operations at Dermira Inc., a fully integrated specialty pharmaceutical company. Evans was the first commercial employee at Dermira and worked across all commercial functions, which was later acquired by Lilly in a transaction greater than $1 billion.
- Deanna Harshbarger, vice president, Product and Medical Affairs: Harshbarger spent the last 18 years in the global medical device industry, leading upstream, downstream, and clinical marketing teams in various positions at Medtronic, Boston Scientific, and Johnson & Johnson. She focused on building innovative portfolios and new franchises, launching new solutions across the globe, and growing businesses organically and through acquisition. Prior to her career in healthcare and business, Harshbarger spent time as a researcher and engineer in various industries.
- Bernard Shay, general counsel: Shay is a senior medical device attorney with prior experience at GE, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Miramar Labs, and Earlens Corporation. He joined Cala Health as general counsel.
“I’m excited to be part of such an innovative and patient-centric company that is freeing people from the burden of chronic disease, especially during this period of accelerated growth,” said Biehn. “Cala’s team is dedicated to building a commercial organization that makes it easier for patients to access the life-changing Cala therapy and helps physicians and neurology practices raise the standard of care on how they treat essential tremor.”
The company has nearly doubled its headcount since commercializing Cala transcutaneous afferent patterned stimulation (TAPS) therapy in September 2019.
“As CFO, my priority will be to focus commercial resources to maximize sales and marketing productivity, and ultimately build a predictable, repeatable, and scalable go-to-market model to establish Cala as the new standard of care,” said Gallagher.
Cala 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’s lead product, Cala Trio which delivers TAPS therapy, 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.