What Claude Bernard does

Claude Bernard is a French pharmaceutical reference database operated by RESIP, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Cegedim Group since 2001, with origins dating to 1985. The database catalogs over 17,000 medications and 200,000+ health product references — including pharmaceutical specialties, non-AMM products, generics, medical devices, homeopathy, and foreign specialties with French equivalence — and is updated daily from official sources. It serves city physicians, hospital pharmacies, community pharmacies, and the general public in France, providing prescription assistance, drug-interaction detection, patient-profile alerts, three levels of therapeutic equivalence, and access to official monographs and technico-regulatory information.

The core product is the Base Claude Bernard, delivered through three access layers: an Integrated Version embedded directly into partner LAP, LAPH, and LAD software; BCB Dexther Web for browser-based access; and BCB Dexther Mobile on iOS, Android, and Windows. A freemium consumer app, Scan Pharma, extends reach to the general public for home-medicine-cabinet management. The database is integrated into 30+ hospital and pharmacy software publishers, including Cegedim Santé (Crossway, Médiclick, MEDI+ 4000, MLM), Evolucare (Osiris, Winpharm), Softway Medical (Hopital Manager), Pharmagest (LGPI), Maincare Solutions, Orisha, and Berger-Levrault.

Monetization combines recurring subscriptions from physicians, pharmacists, and institutions; licensing/royalty revenue from software publishers embedding the database; and a freemium consumer layer. The asset was the first drug database to receive HAS agrément (2008) and is ISO 13485 certified, CE marked, and HONcode certified. In December 2022, RESIP launched a new platform featuring an inaugural AI-powered module dedicated to lung cancer, signaling a move from pure reference data toward condition-specific clinical decision support.

Name

Claude Bernard

Legal name

RESIP

Website

https://bcb.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Claude Bernard is a French pharmaceutical reference database operated by RESIP (Cegedim subsidiary), providing prescription assistance, drug-interaction alerts, and therapeutic equivalents to over 100,000 healthcare professionals and hospitals across France.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Boulogne-sur-mer

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Software Subscriptions: Subscriptions from physicians, pharmacists and hospital institutions using prescription, dispensing or management software based on the Claude Bernard database.
2. Integration Licensing: Revenue from software publishers integrating the database into their LAP, LAPH, and LAD systems.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Claude Bernard is a proprietary drug and health product reference database covering over 17,000 medications and 200,000+ health product references, updated daily from official AMM sources. The database provides prescription assistance, drug interaction detection, patient profile-based alerts, therapeutic equivalence identification, and dosage pre-selection, delivered through three access modes: an integrated version embedded into third-party medical software, a web platform (BCB Dexther Web), and mobile applications (BCB Dexther Mobile). It serves as the primary clinical decision support database for city physicians, hospital pharmacies, and community pharmacies in France.

Product overview

Claude Bernard is a pharmaceutical database company offering a unified database with multiple access solutions. The core product is the Base Claude Bernard database containing over 17,000 medications and 200,000+ health product references. This database is delivered through three complementary solutions: an Integrated Version (embedded in third-party prescribing/dispensing software), BCB Dexther Web (browser-based access with daily updates), and BCB Dexther Mobile (iOS/Android/Windows mobile apps). An additional consumer offering, Scan Pharma, allows individuals to manage their home medicine cabinets. The database provides drug interaction alerts, therapeutic equivalents, dosage determination, and technico-regulatory information, primarily serving city doctors, hospital establishments, pharmacies, and the general public in France.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BCB Dexther: Web-based and mobile application version of the Claude Bernard drug database for healthcare professionals
• Scan Pharma

Quantifiable outcome

• 100,000+ healthcare professionals consult the database daily
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration11 records

AI capability1 record

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• CegedimcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2001RESIP (parent company of Claude Bernard) was acquired by Cegedim in 2001. Cegedim is a technology and services company specialized in digital flow management for the healthcare and B2B ecosystem, as well as business software for healthcare professionals and insurance.
• Cegedim.cloudcoreOthersCegedim.cloud provides cloud hosting services for the Claude Bernard website and platform. Hosting is exclusively in mainland France with ISO 27001, ISO 20000, HDS, ISO 27017, and ISO 27018 certifications.
• Cegedim Santé (Crossway, Médiclick, MEDI+ 4000, MLM)coreTechnology or IntegrationMajor healthcare software publisher with multiple software products (Crossway, Médiclick, MEDI+ 4000, MLM) integrating the Claude Bernard database for prescription assistance.
• Evolucare (Osiris, Winpharm)coreTechnology or IntegrationHealthcare software publisher integrating BCB Dexther into Osiris (hospital) and Winpharm (pharmacy) software products. Long-standing partnership since 2014 with multiple HAS certifications.
• Softway Medical (Hopital Manager)majorTechnology or IntegrationMajor hospital software publisher with Hopital Manager integrating the Claude Bernard database. Certified HAS LAP-H.
• Orisha (Médicawin)majorTechnology or IntegrationHealthcare software publisher offering Médicawin pharmacy software with Claude Bernard integration.
• Pharmagest (LGPI)majorTechnology or IntegrationPharmacy software specialist with LGPI integrating the Claude Bernard database, announced November 2019.
• Maincare Solutions (M-Crossway, M-Pharmacie)majorTechnology or IntegrationMajor hospital IT solutions provider with M-Crossway and M-Pharmacie integrating Claude Bernard database.
• Berger-Levrault (Mediateam, Medic'or, ResUrgences)majorTechnology or IntegrationHealthcare software publisher with multiple products (Mediateam, Medic'or, ResUrgences) integrating Claude Bernard database.
• Alliance Healthcare FrancecoreOthersProvides daily updates on medication marketing status (commercialization effective status) to RESIP.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• First Databank: First Databank is a major US-headquartered drug knowledge and clinical decision support vendor used by EHR vendors and hospitals globally. It competes with Claude Bernard in the same drug-database category and is increasingly evaluated by French hospital IT modernizers.
• Elsevier Clinical Pharmacology / Gold Standard: Elsevier's Clinical Pharmacology (formerly Gold Standard) is an embedded drug reference and drug-interaction database used by hospitals and EHR vendors. It is functionally analogous to Claude Bernard in providing formulary and decision-support content at the point of care.
• Vidal: Vidal is the other leading French drug database, historically the principal competitor to Claude Bernard among physicians, pharmacists, and hospitals. Both serve as embedded prescription-assistance data sources integrated into French healthcare software.
• Wolters Kluwer Medi-Span / Lexicomp: Wolters Kluwer's Medi-Span and Lexicomp offerings provide drug-interaction, dosing, and clinical decision support databases embedded into hospital systems and EHRs worldwide. They directly overlap with Claude Bernard's medication safety and therapeutic-equivalence functions.
• IBM Micromedex: IBM Micromedex provides evidence-based drug and clinical-decision-support content integrated into hospital information systems. It competes with Claude Bernard in the category of embedded drug-reference databases for hospitals and pharmacists.

Broad incumbents

• Dedalus: Dedalus is a major European healthcare-IT vendor providing hospital and diagnostic information systems, often competing for the same French hospital IT contracts where Claude Bernard's database would be embedded.
• Cegedim Santé: Cegedim Santé is the parent group's healthcare software division, integrating Claude Bernard into its Crossway, Médiclick, MEDI+ 4000, and MLM products. It is both the largest internal channel for Claude Bernard and a broader EHR incumbent in French ambulatory practice.
• CompuGroup Medical: CompuGroup Medical is a large European healthcare software vendor with hospital, pharmacy, and physician solutions. Its portfolio includes drug-reference capabilities that compete for the same hospital-IT spend as Claude Bernard's integrations.

Regional players

• Maincare Solutions: Maincare Solutions is a French hospital IT vendor integrating Claude Bernard into its M-Crossway and M-Pharmacie products, primarily serving French healthcare establishments. It is comparable as a regional channel partner and adjacent customer segment.
• Pharmagest: Pharmagest is a French pharmacy-software specialist whose LGPI product integrates the Claude Bernard database. It is comparable as a French pharmacy-channel software vendor and a key downstream consumer of drug-database content.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/RESIP7
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/claude-bernard-bcb

Compliance7 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Claude Bernard