GRIFFON - Centre de santé sexuelle by Virages Santé

What GRIFFON - Centre de santé sexuelle by Virages Santé does

GRIFFON is a non-profit community sexual-health center operated by the Virages Santé association in Lyon, France. Located at 23 rue des Capucins in the 1st arrondissement, it is a single-site facility with approximately 25 staff. The center was established as a Centre de Santé Sexuelle d'Approche Communautaire (CSSAC) in September 2022 after Virages Santé was selected through an Appel à Manifestation d'Intérêt in 2019, and it transitioned to Centre de Santé Mentuelle Sexuelle et Sexologie (CSMSS) status in June 2025 under Arrêté du 29 avril 2025. It targets LGBTQIA+ individuals and sex workers — populations historically underserved by mainstream healthcare — and is integrated with regional partners including HCL (Hospices Civils de Lyon), COREVIH, ENIPSE, and GAMS Rhône-Alpes.

The service portfolio centers on sexual-health prevention and care: rapid STI screening with results in 90 minutes, PrEP initiation and follow-up, vaccinations, and specialized consultations. Service delivery is organized around three named care pathways — Trans, TDS (Travesties, Drag queens, personnes en situation de prostitution), and Chemsex (with the associated Chemspace program) — supported by a peer- and community-mediator model. All services are free at point of care. The diagnostic technology is standard rapid point-of-care testing rather than AI-driven instrumentation, and the center is human-staff-intensive across medical, psycho-social, and community-mediator roles.

The business model is that of a publicly funded French community health center rather than a commercial enterprise. Revenue is sourced from French social security (Assurance Maladie) under the Article 51 experimental framework, transitioning to standard CSMSS funding following the June 2025 designation. There is no fee-for-service revenue from patients, no disclosed budget or revenue figures, and growth is operationalized through regulatory status, partnerships, and outreach (including a podcast project planned for June 2026) rather than through market-driven expansion.

Name

GRIFFON - Centre de santé sexuelle by Virages Santé

Legal name

Virages Santé / CSSAC Le Griffon

Website

https://c2s-legriffon.fr

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

GRIFFON is a non-profit community sexual-health center in Lyon, France, operated by Virages Santé. It serves LGBTQIA+ individuals and sex workers with free STI screening (90-minute rapid testing), PrEP, vaccinations, and three specialized care pathways (Trans, TDS, Chemsex), funded by French social security under CSMSS status.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Community Sexual Health Services

NAICS

Family Planning Centers (62141), Family Planning Centers (621410), Medical and Diagnostic Laboratories (6215)

SIC

Services-Offices & Clinics Of Doctors Of Medicine (8011), Services-Misc Health & Allied Services, Nec (8090)

akta.pro primary industry

Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) (HLAKAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Sexual & Reproductive Health (STI Care, Vulvovaginal Disorders) (HLAKAJAJ)

Keywords

• Sexual health services
• STI screening
• HIV prevention
• Community healthcare
• Harm reduction

Headquarters

HQ city

Lyon

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Public Healthcare Reimbursement: Services are fully covered by French social security (Sécurité sociale) with no advance payment required from patients. Funded through the Article 51 experimental healthcare framework, transitioning to standard CSMSS (Centre de Santé Sexuelle) funding model as of June 2025.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Le Griffon is a community-embedded sexual health center offering comprehensive screening (HIV, hepatitis, chlamydia, gonorrhea with 90-minute on-site rapid results), PrEP and TPE initiation and follow-up, vaccinations, and specialized consultations (sexology, psychology, addictology, gynecology, proctology). It operates three dedicated care pathways for transgender individuals, sex workers, and chemsex users, all delivered free at point of care under French Sécurité sociale reimbursement.

Product overview

Le Griffon is a sexual health center operated by Virages Santé association, offering a comprehensive, community-centered approach to sexual health services. The center provides core services including STI screening (with 90-minute on-site results), PrEP initiation and follow-up, vaccination, and specialized consultations in sexology, psychology, addictology, gynecology, and proctology. The center operates three specialized care pathways: Parcours Trans (for transgender individuals), Parcours TDS (for sex workers), and Parcours Chemsex (for chemsex support including the 12-week Chemspace program). Additional offerings include educational resources like the 'Au coeur des corps' podcast, anonymous partner notification services, and emergency post-exposure treatment (TPE). Services are delivered in French with an LGBTQIA+ and sex worker inclusive approach.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• STI Screening (Dépistage)

Quantifiable outcome

• 90-minute turnaround for chlamydia and gonorrhea test results

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• COREVIH Lyon-Vallée du RhônecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2022Partnership established in 2016 for the opening of the Centre de Santé et de Sexualité, providing collaborative support for community-based sexual health services in the Lyon region.
• ENIPSEcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2022Harm reduction and addiction support organization providing weekly permanence at Le Griffon every Thursday 14h-20h, offering listening, accompaniment, and harm reduction tools for chemsex and substance use.
• CSAPA Hôpital de la Croix-RoussecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2022Addiction medicine department providing off-site permanence (hors-les-murs) at Le Griffon with physicians, nurses, and mental health professionals for chemsex consultations.
• Hospices Civils de Lyon (HCL)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2022Major Lyon hospital network providing referrals, specialist access, and institutional partnership for complex cases and specialized care pathways.
• CabiriaminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2022Lyon-based association working on sex work and human trafficking, sharing expertise and collaborative approach for sex worker outreach and support.
• AIDESminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2022Major French HIV and hepatitis association, providing community support and resources for patients living with HIV/hepatitis.
• Le MasminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2022LGBTQIA+ community center in Lyon providing collaborative services and community outreach.
• Actions TraitementsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2022Patient association founded in 1991 for people living with HIV, providing information, support, and advocacy, listed as resource partner.
• ARS Auvergne-Rhône-AlpesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2022Regional Health Agency providing regulatory oversight and funding for experimental healthcare projects including Article 51.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Sidaction: Major French AIDS research and patient-support foundation funding HIV programs and community organizations. Operates at a national funding/advocacy level rather than as a clinical provider, but shapes the funding ecosystem Le Griffon depends on.
• AIDES: Largest French community-based HIV and hepatitis association, providing screening, harm reduction, and advocacy nationwide. Overlaps with Le Griffon on community-led sexual health delivery and is a listed partner, but operates as a national advocacy/field organization rather than a fixed clinical center.

Emerging players

• HF Prévention: French association delivering free STI screening and sexual health outreach, including LGBTQIA+-focused actions. Comparable on community-based screening and prevention services, though lighter on multidisciplinary specialty care than Le Griffon.
• Act Up-Paris: Long-standing French HIV/AIDS advocacy organization focused on treatment access and policy. Adjacent to Le Griffon's mission of equitable sexual healthcare for marginalized populations, though primarily advocacy rather than clinical delivery.
• Acceptess-T: Paris-based trans and sex-worker health association offering HIV/STI screening and community support. Partial overlap on trans care and sex-worker health pathways, though smaller in clinical scope than Le Griffon's Parcours Trans.

Direct peers

• Cabiria: Lyon-based association supporting sex workers and victims of human trafficking. Direct peer on the Parcours TDS (sex worker) pathway, sharing outreach, harm reduction, and rights-counseling responsibilities for the same population Le Griffon serves.
• ENIPSE: National organization specializing in chemsex harm reduction and sexual health for drug-using populations. Operates an in-reach permanence inside Le Griffon every Thursday, making it a service-line peer and operational partner on the chemsex pathway.
• Le 190 (Checkpoint Paris): Paris-based sexual health center providing free, community-embedded STI screening, PrEP, and LGBTQIA+ care. Operates a near-identical community-health-center model targeting the same populations as Le Griffon, making it the closest functional peer in France.
• Le Mas: Lyon LGBTQIA+ community center providing social, cultural, and health-oriented services. Direct peer on community engagement and LGBTQIA+ outreach in the same city, and a listed collaborative partner of Le Griffon.

Others

• COREVIH Lyon-Vallée du Rhône: Regional HIV coordination body coordinating hospital and community HIV care in the Lyon area. Not a direct service competitor but a listed core institutional partner providing referrals and co-governance for Le Griffon's clinical pathways.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/Le.Griffon.C2S
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/le-griffon-centre-de-sant-sexuelle
• Instagraminstagram.com/legriffon.lyon

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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