PKParag Katekar

Medical content leader · Scientific strategist · Toronto

I lead complex science from first brief to final approval.

Nine-plus years setting the narrative, aligning cross-functional teams and turning complex evidence into clear, compliant medical communications that move global work forward.

Explore selected work ↘

LEADERSHIP THAT CONNECTS

01Strategic judgement
02Team alignment
03Review confidence
9+

years leading content across agency, editorial, freelance and in-house studio environments

claim → evidence → meaning
GLOBAL TRAINING✦PROMOTIONAL CONTENT✦DIGITAL TOOLS✦MLR & PAAB✦SCIENTIFIC STORYTELLING

Selected work

Complex assignments.
Clear outcomes.

These are working case studies, not thumbnail teasers. Each one shows how I structured the science, made the hard content decisions and led the asset toward approval.

01Global trainingNeuromuscular disease

From pathway to mechanism

A mechanism-of-action curriculum that turns complement biology, molecular design and therapeutic rationale into a logical teaching sequence.

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How I built it

  1. Build the biological need

    Opened with the three ways pathogenic autoantibodies disrupt neuromuscular transmission, then isolated complement-mediated injury as the mechanism the asset needed to follow.

  2. Introduce the molecule only after the target

    Positioned the bispecific VHH construct after C5 convertase, C5 cleavage and MAC formation were established, so the molecule entered as an answer to a defined biological problem.

  3. Separate mechanism from platform

    Kept C5 binding and inhibition in the MoA section; moved nanobody size, stability, albumin affinity and recycling into a dedicated technology section to prevent feature overload.

  4. Reassemble the story

    Closed by linking target engagement, molecular structure and patient-facing implications in one synthesis, while avoiding unsupported superiority language.

The hardest judgement call

Structural novelty is not automatically a benefit

I required each feature to earn its place in the narrative: what it binds, what happens at physiological versus endosomal pH, and how that affects target inhibition, molecular persistence or administration design. Features that could not be connected cleanly to a supported implication were not elevated into headline messages.

02Launch trainingRare metabolic disease

A scientific foundation built from first principles

A launch curriculum spanning disease biology, differential diagnosis, molecular structure, early clinical evidence and key takeaways.

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How I built it

  1. Start with the enzyme system

    Explained ALP function and accumulation of PPi, PLP and PEA before moving to clinical manifestations, giving every later symptom and biomarker a biological anchor.

  2. Make variability visible

    Used differential-diagnosis content and five patient archetypes to show that HPP presents across ages and systems rather than as one stereotyped bone disorder.

  3. Decode the engineered construct

    Separated catalytic-domain refinement, glycosylation-site changes, Fc fusion and peptide elements so the audience could understand the role of each design choice.

  4. Keep early evidence in proportion

    Presented Phase I objectives, cohorts, safety, exposure and substrate response as distinct evidence layers, avoiding a leap from biomarker movement to clinical efficacy.

The hardest judgement call

How much meaning can early-phase evidence carry?

I preserved the study’s actual hierarchy. Trial objective and dosing came first; safety was reported on its own terms; PK described exposure; PD described substrate behaviour. Where the content referred to projected or modelled activity, the language remained explicitly projected rather than being allowed to read as an observed clinical outcome.

03Disease educationRare haematology

One coherent diagnostic story

A comprehensive disease-and-diagnosis module connecting multisystem presentation, diagnostic delay, testing, typing and staging.

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How I built it

  1. Recognise the pattern

    Opened with common symptoms, organ involvement and comparison with multiple myeloma so learners could recognise the multisystem pattern without conflating related plasma-cell disorders.

  2. Make delay part of the problem

    Used the patient journey and misdiagnosis evidence to show why nonspecific symptoms, multiple specialties and organ-by-organ treatment delay definitive diagnosis.

  3. Give every test a job

    Organised ECG, echocardiography, imaging, light-chain assays, immunofixation, biopsy, microscopy and mass spectrometry by the question each test answers—not by technology alone.

  4. Separate diagnosis, typing and staging

    Built a diagnostic algorithm and dedicated sections so confirmation of amyloid, identification of the precursor protein and assessment of severity could not blur together.

The hardest judgement call

Typing had to be a decision point, not an appendix

I made typing the third explicit step after suspicion and confirmation. The content compared immunohistochemistry with mass spectrometry and specialised microscopy, then carried that logic into an algorithm that showed how results direct the pathway toward AL or another amyloidosis type.

04Interactive toolCardiovascular

Evidence made interactive

A hypertension impact calculator translating epidemiology, clinical outcomes and economic assumptions into a clear guided experience.

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How I built it

  1. Constrain the journey

    Reduced a complex model to five decisions: population, time horizon, outcome group, measurement method and blood-pressure reduction.

  2. Show assumptions before results

    Added a reviewable summary screen where users can inspect population, horizon, outcome pathway, reductions, event rates and costs before calculating.

  3. Make expert inputs editable

    Allowed event incidence and unit costs to be changed within evidence-based ranges while preserving transparent defaults and reset behaviour.

  4. Separate clinical from economic meaning

    Presented avoided events first and costs second, keeping the model’s clinical logic visible instead of collapsing everything into a financial headline.

The hardest judgement call

I rejected a convenient citation when it did not support the selectable range

I traced the range to a systematic review reporting mild cognitive impairment incidence of 8.5–76.8 per 1,000 person-years. I converted those rates to annual proportions of 0.85%–7.68% for the selector and documented the calculation. The original paper remained relevant only to the separate modelled association between blood-pressure lowering and cognitive outcomes.

05Interactive detail aidHeart failure & hyperkalaemia

Clinical data shaped for the field

An HCP story connecting the treatment barrier, patient profile, study evidence, clinical implications and prescribing context.

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How I built it

  1. Begin with a treatment decision

    Used a heart-failure patient who developed hyperkalaemia after MRA initiation to frame the practical choice: preserve evidence-based therapy while managing potassium.

  2. Establish the cost of backing away

    Placed observational evidence on MRA or RAASi discontinuation and down-titration before product evidence, with design and limitation overlays kept available.

  3. Show why persistence matters

    Connected recurrent hyperkalaemia, hospitalisation and mortality burden to the need for ongoing rather than episodic management.

  4. Move from enablement to reassurance

    Sequenced optimisation studies, longer-term healthcare utilisation, tolerability, interactions and guideline context before the final synthesis.

The hardest judgement call

Association could not be allowed to become a treatment-outcome claim

I kept the observational question, adjusted comparisons and key limitations visible; explicitly stated the non-indication near the risk content; and delayed product evidence until after the consequences of suboptimal RAASi were established independently. Randomised optimisation results were then described in terms of the endpoints actually studied—not converted into outcome claims.

06Scientific infographicClinical evidence

A dense study reduced to one page

A long-form infographic balancing study design, efficacy, safety and practical meaning without losing scientific precision.

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How I built it

  1. Define the population and endpoint first

    Placed symptomatic HFrEF, LVEF, MRA status and the composite-response definition beside the study overview so the headline result could be interpreted correctly.

  2. Visualise attrition and randomisation

    Mapped screening, open-label run-in, normokalaemia criteria, randomisation and treatment groups in one flow rather than reducing the design to a single N value.

  3. Give the primary endpoint dominance

    Made the response proportions and odds ratio the central visual, then placed sensitivity information immediately adjacent rather than in remote fine print.

  4. Keep benefit and safety in balance

    Grouped key secondary endpoints as supporting evidence and reserved a full safety block for adverse events, discontinuations, oedema and heart-failure-event context.

The hardest judgement call

A composite endpoint needs its definition beside the headline

I kept the full response definition in the primary-endpoint area, displayed both group proportions with the odds ratio and confidence interval, and retained the sensitivity-analysis context. The copy distinguished an odds comparison from a fourfold difference in absolute response rates.

Expertise

Accuracy is the baseline.
Leadership is what moves the work.

01

Scientific content strategy

Finding the organising idea inside complex evidence and building the narrative around it.

02

Evidence & references

Literature review, data interpretation, claim substantiation, AMA style and precise annotation.

03

Medical review leadership

MLR, PAAB and Veeva PromoMats expertise—from first draft to defensible, approval-ready asset.

04

Writer–designer collaboration

Visual briefs, figure direction and close creative partnership so the science reads clearly on the page.

Leadership in practice

Direction set.
Standards raised.

01

Set direction

Turn an ambiguous brief into a clear medical strategy, content architecture and shared definition of quality.

02

Align the room

Bring brand, medical, creative and review partners around one scientifically sound, audience-relevant story.

03

Clear the path

Anticipate risk, resolve evidence gaps and give teams the decisions they need to move confidently toward approval.

Experience

Built across every side
of medical content.

PAAB 3.0 certified

MSc Pharmacology

U of T · Digital Strategy

Bachelor of Pharmacy

2025—NOW

Medical Lead — Medical Writer

AstraZeneca, In-house Global Creative Studio

Own scientific accuracy, strategic alignment and review readiness across global training, disease education and medical communications.

2022—2025

Medical Writer

Bang Albino Communications

Led content from brief and research through creative development, Veeva PromoMats, PAAB and final approval.

2020—2022

Independent Medical Writer

Toronto

Created claims, manuscripts, websites, detail aids and training content for healthcare agencies and strategy partners.

2015—2020

Medical Writer & Editor

Aptus Health · Elsevier · Scholarly Editing

Built an editorial foundation in medical news, clinical summaries, academic manuscripts, CME and case-based education.

Let’s talk

Looking for a leader who can own the science, align the room and move the work?

paragkatekar@gmail.com ↗

Greater Toronto Area · Canada