John-Paul Kress

Chief Executive Officer and Board Chair

MorphoSys

Jean-Paul Kress, M.D., has spent the last 20 years leading transformative change across biotech and pharmaceutical companies, leveraging his experience as a trained physician to create meaningful progress for patients.

Most recently, Jean-Paul served as the CEO of MorphoSys from 2019 until it was acquired for 2.7 billion Euros by Novartis. He led the company in its mission – More life for people with cancer – and has spearheaded its strategic and cultural transformation into a global biopharmaceutical company developing and commercializing novel cancer medicines.
Prior to joining MorphoSys, Jean-Paul was the CEO of Syntimmune, where he sharpened the company’s focus on late-stage clinical development, resulting in its acquisition by Alexion. He has held several senior leadership roles at other pharmaceutical companies, including Biogen, Sanofi, Gilead and AbbVie. Jean-Paul also served as Chair of the Board of Directors at ERYTECH Pharma, where he ushered in the company’s merger with Pherecydes. Prior to that, he was a member of Sarepta Therapeutics’ Board of Directors.

Jean-Paul received his M.D. from Faculté Necker-Enfants Malades in Paris and graduate and post-graduate degrees in biochemistry and in molecular and cellular pharmacology from Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris.