CRNH Rhône-Alpes

What CRNH Rhône-Alpes does

CRNH Rhône-Alpes (Centre de Recherche en Nutrition Humaine Rhône-Alpes) is a French public research institution focused on clinical human nutrition research, jointly supervised by Université Grenoble Alpes, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, and Centre Hospitalier Lyon Sud. Headquartered in Pierre-Bénite with satellite operations at CHU Grenoble (La Tronche) and CHU Saint-Étienne, the center develops evidence-based dietary and physical-activity strategies for the prevention and management of metabolic pathologies including obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and hypertension, and participates in national, European, and international nutrition research programs.

The center operates two core technical platforms. The Centre d'Exploration Clinique (Clinical Investigation Center) is a specialized nutrition clinical trial facility encompassing 2 day test rooms, 3 accommodation rooms with bathrooms, 3 examination rooms, 1 multi-chair phlebotomy room, EEG and Bodpod testing, 2 conditioning laboratories, an experimental restaurant and kitchen, a gym, and a recording studio, staffed by medical investigators, clinical research nurses, dieticians, and clinical research associates. The Plateforme Spectrométrie de Masse (Mass Spectrometry Platform) performs isotopic enrichment measurements using stable isotopes and metabolite quantification (glucose, fatty acids, etc.), with services offered to both internal teams and external public or private organizations. The center maintains a volunteer database of more than 2,000 participants and typically runs 5-10 parallel clinical trials, producing over 100 publications annually at operational peak.

The revenue model is non-commercial and public-grant-funded. Funding flows from national, European, and international research programs routed through the supervising universities and host hospital, supplemented by industrial collaborations with major global groups. There is no consumer pricing model; instead, CRNH operates as a contracted research service provider, conducting sponsor-funded clinical studies (e.g., VALOBAB on milk polar lipids, SINFONI on slowly digestible starch, FAST and Fruits studies) and recruiting compensated volunteers. Distribution is institutional — through direct relationships with research partners, the national CRNH network (Auvergne, Ouest, Ile de France), Institut Paul Bocuse, and the Carmen research network — rather than through commercial sales channels.

Name

CRNH Rhône-Alpes

Legal name

Centre de Recherche en Nutrition Humaine Rhône-Alpes

Website

https://crnh-rhone-alpes.fr

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

CRNH Rhône-Alpes is a French public nutrition research institution operating a clinical investigation center and mass spectrometry platform to study metabolic diseases, drawing on a 2,000+ volunteer database and serving public research programs, universities, and industrial partners across Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Clinical Nutrition Research Services

NAICS

Scientific Research and Development Services (5417)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Clinical CROs (Phase I–IV) (HLAGAAAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Bioanalytical & Biomarker CROs (PK/PD/Immunogenicity) (HLAGAAAD), Specialty Therapeutic-Area CROs (e.g., oncology/rare disease) (HLAGAAAL)

Keywords

• Clinical nutrition research
• Metabolic studies
• Mass spectrometry analysis
• Clinical trials
• Volunteer recruitment

Headquarters

HQ city

Pierre-Bénite

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Public Research Funding: CRNH Rhône-Alpes is a public research institution that develops research programs within the framework of national, European and international research programs. Funding comes from public sources including university affiliations (Université Grenoble Alpes, Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1) and hospital partnerships (Centre Hospitalier Lyon Sud).
2. Industrial Collaborations: The center collaborates with industrial partners and researchers from major global groups, conducting research programs in nutrition that may include industry-funded studies.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

CRNH Rhône-Alpes operates a public clinical research center specializing in human nutrition studies. It runs clinical nutrition trials through its Centre d'Exploration Clinique and provides isotopic and metabolite analysis via its Plateforme Spectrométrie de Masse. Services are available to internal research teams and external public or private organizations, supported by a volunteer database exceeding 2,000 participants.

Product overview

CRNH Rhône-Alpes (Centre de Recherche en Nutrition Humaine Rhône-Alpes) is a clinical research center focused on human nutrition, developing research programs in nutrition within national, European, and international frameworks. The center operates two core service platforms: the Clinical Investigation Center (Centre d'Exploration Clinique) conducting nutrition clinical trials with specialized facilities, and the Mass Spectrometry Analysis Platform (Plateforme Spectrométrie de Masse) providing isotopic analysis services. The center also maintains ongoing volunteer recruitment for various clinical studies.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Centre d'Exploration Clinique (Clinical Investigation Center)

Quantifiable outcome

• Conducts 5-10 clinical trials in parallel on nutrition and physical activity strategies
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered core and regional.

• CRNH AuvergnecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNetwork partnership with other French National Research Centers for Human Nutrition. CRNH Auvergne is located at Clermont-Ferrand (http://www1.clermont.inra.fr/crnh/).
• CRNH OuestcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with CRNH Ouest located in Nantes (http://www.crnh-nantes.fr). Part of the national CRNH network.
• CRNH Ile de FrancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with CRNH Ile de France (https://rhubarbe.uren.smbh.univ-paris13.fr/crnhidfv2/presentation.htm). Part of the national CRNH network.
• Institut Paul Bocuse Research CentercoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResearch collaboration with Institut Paul Bocuse (http://recherche.institutpaulbocuse.com/). Joint studies on food science and sensory science.
• CarmencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with Carmen research network (http://carmen.univ-lyon1.fr/) for metabolic and nutrition research collaboration.
• Université Grenoble AlpescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHosting institution providing IT infrastructure (DSI de l'université Grenoble Alpes). Tutelle/supervisory body supporting the center.
• Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMajor university partner (UCBL) with shared Master programs in nutrition research and thesis supervision.
• CHU de Lyon (Centre Hospitalier Lyon Sud)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHost hospital providing clinical facilities at Lyon Sud site in Pierre-Bénite for the main headquarters and clinical investigation center.
• CHU de Saint EtienneregionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerSatellite collaboration with CHU Saint Etienne under Pr. Bruno Estour for endocrinology and diabetes research.
• CHU Grenoble (Hôpital Michallon)regionalStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with CHU Grenoble for nutrition artificial research under Pr. Eric Fontaine.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• INRAE: France's national research institute for agriculture, food and environment, encompassing nutrition research at much larger scale. Comparable because INRAE funds and operates many of the human nutrition research programs in France, sets the science agenda for CRNH-style work, and houses some of CRNH Rhône-Alpes' supervisory researchers.
• Nestlé Research: Global nutrition-science arm of a major food multinational that commissions and conducts clinical nutrition studies worldwide. Comparable as an industrial sponsor with overlapping scientific agenda and a likely counterpart on industry-funded trials targeting diabetes, obesity, and metabolic health.
• Danone Nutricia Research: Large in-house nutrition and health research organization of a major global food company that funds and runs nutrition clinical trials. Comparable because it is a typical industrial sponsor/competitor for the same volunteer population and study types that CRNH Rhône-Alpes executes.

Direct peers

• Biofortis (Mérieux NutriSciences): Private nutrition-focused CRO that runs clinical nutrition and functional-food intervention studies for industrial sponsors, operating a similar volunteer-recruitment and biomarker-analysis model. Directly comparable as the closest private-sector analogue offering fee-for-service nutrition clinical research to food industry clients.
• Carmen Research Network: Lyon-based academic research network for metabolism and nutrition with a documented partnership with CRNH Rhône-Alpes. Comparable because it shares investigators, infrastructure, and grant proposals in the same nutrition-metabolism research domain.
• CRNH Ouest: National CRNH network center in Nantes with overlapping nutrition clinical research scope, university-hospital affiliation, and recruitment infrastructure. Directly comparable as a peer center running parallel nutrition intervention studies under the same institutional framework.
• Institut Paul Bocuse Research Center: French research center focused on food science, sensory science and nutrition with a stated partnership with CRNH Rhône-Alpes. Comparable because it runs nutrition-related human studies and joint projects in the same domain, sharing industrial sponsors and academic collaborators.
• CRNH Ile de France: National CRNH network partner in the Paris region with comparable clinical nutrition research capabilities and academic sponsorship model. Comparable because it offers the same nutrition-trial delivery services and competes for similar industrial partners and grant funding.
• CRNH Auvergne: National CRNH network sister center based in Clermont-Ferrand that conducts human nutrition clinical trials with similar academic-university affiliation and a comparable clinical-investigation-plus-analysis-platform structure. Directly comparable because it shares the same national mandate, operational model, and target study sponsors as CRNH Rhône-Alpes.

Regional players

• CHU de Lyon (Hospices Civils de Lyon): The university hospital center that hosts CRNH Rhône-Alpes and operates its own clinical research infrastructure including nutrition-related investigations. Comparable as a regional clinical-research organization with overlapping investigator pool and patient-recruitment channels.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/CRNH_RA
• Facebookfacebook.com/CRNH-Rh%C3%B4ne-Alpes-101950957856462
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/crnh-rhone-alpes

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles19 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about CRNH Rhône-Alpes