In this episode of Medsider Radio, we sat down with Deanna Harshbarger, CEO of Cala Health.

Cala Health developed the Cala kIQ® System, a prescription wearable therapy for action hand tremor.

Deanna holds a degree in chemical engineering and brings more than 20 years of commercial medtech experience to Cala. Before joining the company, she held senior leadership roles at Johnson & Johnson, Boston Scientific, and Medtronic, and helped develop and commercialize technologies across interventional cardiology, neuromodulation, and diabetes care.

In this conversation, Deanna shares how she empowers leadership teams to execute, building clinical evidence step-by-step, how patient observation shapes product development, and why raising capital is both a sprint and a marathon.

Before we dive into the discussion, I wanted to mention a few things:

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If you'd rather read than listen, here's a link to the full interview with Deanna Harshbarger, which includes a link to ScottBot — an AI version of host Scott Nelson trained on every Medsider interview and playbook. Feel free to ask ScottBot any questions you'd like!

KEY MOMENTS FROM THE INTERVIEW

(03:34) - Deanna’s journey from J&J, Boston Scientific, and Medtronic to Cala Health
(08:16) - How Cala personalized therapy around each patient's unique experience
(11:53) - Operating lessons Deanna carried from strategics to startups
(22:27) - The unboxing interview that changed Cala's product design
(29:16) - How Cala balanced feasibility studies, RCTs, and real-world evidence after its commercial launch
(34:33) - Years of clinical evidence helped Cala win reimbursement for a new therapy
(38:52) - The case for holding back when you're ready to commercialize
(44:30) - Why fundraising is both a sprint and a marathon

Building an Operating System for Faster Decisions: Interview with Cala Health CEO Deanna Harshbarger

Medsider: Learn from Medtech and Healthtech Founders and CEOs

Building an Operating System for Faster Decisions: Interview with Cala Health CEO Deanna Harshbarger