Dr. Kay Horsch is a non-profit executive and entrepreneur with over two decades of experience at the intersection of regenerative medicine, medical technology, and organizational leadership. He spent 16 years leading international non-profit foundations in orthopedic and oral tissue regeneration, including as Executive Director of the Osteology Foundation and as founder and Executive Director of the ON Foundation, which he built from the ground up into a global network of over 3,000 scientists and surgeons across 99 countries.
Earlier in his career, Kay worked in the medical device industry as Clinical Project Manager at Geistlich Pharma AG, managing international preclinical and clinical studies for Class III regenerative medicine products. He is a Partner and member of the Executive Team at hovia, where he holds mandates for several foundations, and independently serves as Co-Leader of the Research Task Force at SwissFoundations, promoting sustainable and effective grantmaking practices among Swiss foundations. He also consults for the EU Horizon project ENCANTO, evaluating cell therapy for patellofemoral osteoarthritis.
Most recently, Kay has taken on an entrepreneurial role as CEO and co-founder of CartileniX, a Basel-based clinical-stage company developing the first disease-modifying, joint-preserving cell therapy to regenerate cartilage - using nasal chondrocytes - for patients with osteoarthritis and traumatic cartilage defects. He holds a PhD in Cell Biology from the University of Basel and executive certifications in management (HSG St. Gallen) and foundation management (CEPS Basel).
