Dr. Paula Walker, Founder, ControlPoint Inc

Today, veterinarians are the only doctors who are educated to protect the health of both animals and people. They work very hard to address the health and welfare needs of every species. Dr. Paula Walker is one such veterinarian, entrepreneur, and founder of ControlPoint, an animal diagnostics company aspiring to improve animal health around the globe. The veterinary diagnostics company is focused on developing tests that could be used by anyone, anywhere, providing fast results.

Paula shares, “I am a veterinarian but have spent most of my career developing products to improve human health. I worked in start-ups for almost half of my career, starting my own company when I was 28 years old.” She has over 15 years of combined experience in regulatory and clinical areas including the design, management, and monitoring of clinical trials to support domestic (FDA) and ex-US regulatory reviews of infectious disease, virology, and oncology women’s health, pharmaceutical, and molecular assays.

Story of ControlPoint

Prior to launching ControlPoint, Paula worked on diagnostic tests for sexually transmitted infections and SARS-CoV-2. During her tenure in that company, the team grew from 50 to 300+ employees. She was head of the Clinical Department and enjoyed working with everyone but she always felt she had more to offer. Her husband reminded her how much she enjoys the start-up environment and encouraged her to start another company. Paula went back to her roots in veterinary medicine and established ControlPoint in 2020.

Soon after the inception, Paula and her team began to explore the idea of a diagnostic test that could detect multiple pathogens. After doing market research, they identified a market segment in companion animals at the point of care and decided to work toward developing a test for the detection of kennel cough infections. 

“We have created a strong product pipeline with the focus on developing diagnostic tests for use in animal health that can be used by anyone, anywhere, providing fast results,” affirms Paula.

Over the past two years, Paula has laid a strong foundation for ControlPoint, beginning with market research to gain a comprehensive understanding of the need within the veterinary category. The company demonstrated proof of principle and conducted benchmark comparison studies with a competitor device, showing superior results.

With its two key strengths — high caliber individuals and innovative medical software — ControlPoint is standing out in the market. Leveraging both strengths, the company aims to bring veterinarians a fast, reliable, cost-effective diagnosis for kennel cough, enabling them to provide their patients and pet owners the highest level of care.

Kennel cough is one of the most common infections in dogs, impacting more than 5,000,000 US dogs annually, yet there currently is no good way to diagnose it. In 90% of cases, veterinarians treat dogs based on an educated guess. ControlPoint’s aim is to provide the first-ever single-use test to detect multiple pathogens for kennel cough, and to deliver results within minutes via the ControlPoint mobile app.

Paula asserts, “The pet owner will receive a definitive diagnosis and the patient will receive treatment the same day. For our partners in veterinary clinics, they will be able to provide better service to the pet owners, better care to their patients, and improve their margins.”

Patient-centric

With a vision to develop products that empower veterinarians and pet owners to improve their pet’s everyday life, Paula aims to bring the answer into the examination room at the veterinary clinic. Paula states, “More than 80% of veterinarians from our market research support proceeding with the development of the ControlPoint kennel cough test.” 

Other veterinarians believe that ControlPoint is a game-changer. The most significant benefits they observed were:

• On-site rapid results
• Easy-to-use
• Testing for a white range of pathogens

“We have an opportunity to build the confidence of the veterinarian on how they’re going to treat our pets; and build the confidence of pet owners that their veterinarian is treating their pet properly,” shares Paula.

Looking Ahead and Beyond

The mission of ControlPoint is to serve animals everywhere and its values start and end with animal health, wellness and safety. The company is focused on protecting the families these animals serve and doing it at the highest quality possible. In 2022, Paula aims to build the first functional prototype and prepare a test plan for the USDA to conduct the verification and validation studies required.

“Simultaneously, later this year we will shift some of our efforts to develop a second product. We are increasing our visibility and traction through social media to start building a brand presence in the field, so our customers will get the awareness and opportunity to use our products as soon as we launch,” concludes Paula.