Grégory Katz

Training

Born in Paris in 1971, Gregory Katz holds a Master of Business Administration (ESSEC, 1997), a doctorate in philosophy (Université de Paris-Sorbonne, 2000) and a doctorate in pharmacy (Université de Paris-Descartes, 1999). Elie Wiesel, professor at Boston University and Nobel Peace Prize laureate mentored his doctorate in philosophy at the Université de Paris-Sorbonne.

Academic positions

In 2003, Gergory Katz became a permanent faculty member atESSECBusiness School (Paris-Singapore). In 2004, he was appointed chaired professor of the ESSEC Chair of Therapeutic Innovation, which he created that same year. As visiting professor at INSEAD in 2004-2005 on the Singapore campus, he taught business ethics alongside Henri-Claude de Bettignies at the Asian Center for Comparative Management. In 2006, Katz was a visiting professor at Bocconi University (Milan) at the Center for Research on Health Care and Social Management. In 2009 he was named co-director of the ESSEC Institute of Health Economics & Management. From 2011 to 2013, he was Academic Director of the Executive Master Strategy & Management of Health Industries at ESSEC Executive Education.

Institutional positions

In 2004, Gregory Katz was elected vice-president of the association Eurocord. From 2009 to 2012, he was administrator of the European School of Surgery.20 From 2012 to 2014, he was a member of the first expert panel of the French Institutional Review Board (CPP IDF3).35 From 2012 to 2015 he was Pro Bono Chairman of the Board of GlaxoSmithKlineVaccines’ Global Innovation Fund.[23]Since 2015, Gregory Katz has been a member of the advisory board of the doctoral school of life sciences and health at University Paris-Est.

Managerial positions

From 2008 to 2015, Gregory Katz was head of innovation and clinical research at the hospital group Ramsay Générale de Santé and director of its not-for-profit foundation. In November 2015, he joined the ELSAN group as head of research and innovation.

Publications

Gregory Katz’s scientific publications analyze the socioeconomic and organizational implications of biomedical innovations, with a focus on the field of genomics and stem cell banks. He also conducts research on the development of new quality indicators for healthcare performance (outcome measurements, value-based healthcare, etc.). His publications are at the crossroads of industrial economics, medico-economic evaluation, biomedical ethics and health policy.

As principal investigator, he has published a number of articles in health policy journals such as PLOS, or the Yale Journal of Public Health, Law and Ethics and medical journals such as Transfusion. He sits on several journal editorial boards including Philosophy of Management, Journal of Methodology & Education for Clinical Innovation, and International Journal of Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Marketing.

Trained at Harvard Business School by Michael Porter, publishes case studies that are taught in executive education programs using role-playing that involves the participants in concrete negotiation and crisis management situations. His teaching deals with topics such as leadership, ethical dilemmas in organizations, and innovation management in the health industries.

He is solicited by editorial boards to review articles in management science and biomedical science journals. Katz collaborates on a regular basis with the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health on their teaching activities and on comparative research projects between Europe and the United States.

Reconciling genomics and humanism

In 2002, Katz published le Chiffre de la vie: réconcilier la génétique et l’humanisme(310 p. Editions du Seuil). In 2003, he became a permanent faculty member at ESSEC Business School (Paris-Singapore). The book, a philosophical essay on DNA, was selected by FNAC bookstore as the "best philosophical essay of 2003".

Running counter to prevailing currents of thought, the author demonstrates that, where a microscope sees only blind mechanics, actually lies the Cipher of life - an extraordinary text where biochemical signs convey form and meaning. Plunging into the heart of this universal grammar, Katz criticizes the linguistic metaphors used in biology and their anthropomorphism. He formulates the hypothesis of a genetic protolanguage that existed before all human conscience, and whose gradual evolution enabled the emergence of verbal languages and their various forms. "Behind the biochemical signs, is there a signature? If there is a program, is there a Programmer?" In light of the most recent scientific advances in genomics, Katz re-visits the debate on the origin of life, from biblical biology to the philosophical traditions of the great book of Nature. He analyzes the very idea of "creative chance" as a modern reformulation of the spontaneous generation theory. Beyond the current controversies, he demonstrates why the concepts of creation and evolution can be reconciled through the Bergsonian concept of "creative evolution".

"But in this program, where do we put free will?" the author asks. Biological code, linguistic code, ethological code, ethical code… From bios to ethos, does the genome contain the Code of Codes at the root of our physical and psychological traits, including habits and behaviors such as addiction, appetite for risk, maternal instinct, aggressiveness or pair bonding? Science is only beginning to discover the subtlety of the program, yet Man is already seeking to reprogram it in an attempt to control its determinism. The final chapter of the book anticipates the eugenistic temptation that would reduce Man to the raw score of his genetic quotient. Katz anticipates the emergence of a genomic hygienism based on the public health costs generated by individuals with predispositions for certain diseases. Through concrete illustrations from the medtech and biotech industries, he analyzes the expansion of human screening, where "the concept of prevention no longer means avoiding the appearance of the disease, but rather the appearance of the diseased individual." Breaking with the transhumanist currents, he identifies the narrow path through which stem cells and genomics could succeed in healing Man without alienating his moral status.

Expert panels

Gregory Katz is regularly solicited by health authorities for his expertise on bioethics and on the industrial development of healthcare innovations. He was consulted by the French Senate, the Conseil d’Etat, the European Parliament (European Group on Ethics in Science and New Technologies) and UNESCO (Human Variome Project).

From 2004 to 2009, Gregory Katz worked alongside Eliane Gluckman as vice-president of the association Eurocord, an international platform for clinical research on cord blood stem cell transplantation. Eurocord analyzes clinical data from more than 500 transplant centers in 56 countries around the world. In 2010, Eurocord became part of the French Agence de la biomédecine, which now heads its operations.

Contributions to the French debate on bioethics laws

As part of the 2011 debate on French bioethics laws, Gregory Katz was heavily involved in the drafting of a 2010 bill sponsored by Senator Hermange on stem cells contained in umbilical cord blood. Considered "biological waste", the legal status of these stem cells was not clearly defined by French law. The purpose of the bill was to establish their status as a "therapeutic resource" much as for other hematopoietic cells, implying the principles of consent, anonymity and donation. Passed in 2011 by the French Senate and National Assembly as part of a general review of bioethical laws (article 7 of the government’s bill), this bill have since been transposed into the French Public Health Code.

Supporting cell therapy

From 2008 to 2015, Gregory Katz headed the Ramsay Générale de Santé Foundation, which leads non-profit initiatives to help patients and support scientific research in the field of cell therapy. In 2010, through public-private partnerships with the French National Blood Agency (Etablissement Français du Sang), the Foundation became the leading French player in the collection of cord blood stem cell grafts for public banks through anonymous, free donations. The grafts are transferred to the banks of the French National Cord Blood Bank Network (Agence de la Biomédecine), to be transplanted to patients for the treatment of blood cancers (lymphoma, leukemia) and rare diseases. Since its creation in 2008, the foundation accounts for more than 15,000 collections performed by 400 midwives and obstetricians in France, and more than 100 patients worldwide have been transplanted. Since 2010, in partnership with Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, the Foundation has developed the first scientific network to offer thousands of cord blood biological samples to dozen of research teams in France in support of their work in cell therapy.

Every year, the Foundation organizes an international prize for cell therapy and regenerative medicine, in partnership with the French Academy of Sciences. Inaugurated in 2012 in the presence of Nobel Prize laureate in Medicine Shinya Yamanaka, the annual prize rewards scientific excellence in the field of tissue regeneration. In 2009, in honor of its patronage actions, the Foundation was granted the Grande Cause Nationale label delivered by the French Prime Minister, and was awarded the 2012 Special Jury Prize by the Fédération de l’hospitalisation privée. In 2015, the Foundation’s prize received the Official Patronage of the French Ministry of Education and Research.

Scientific affiliations

Awards

Books

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