CEN
Groupe CEN is a French clinical evaluation services group operating six specialized subsidiaries from Dijon, providing clinical trials and observational studies to pharmaceutical, medical device, health food, dietary supplement, cosmetics, and animal nutrition companies.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1995
- HeadquartersDijon, France
- Headcount—
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What CEN does
Groupe CEN is a French clinical evaluation services group headquartered in Dijon, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, operating through six wholly-owned subsidiaries: CEN Biotech (clinical trials for drugs, medical devices, and connected health objects, founded 1995), CEN Nutriment (clinical studies on dietary supplements, health food, food supplements for medical purposes, and nutricosmetics, founded 2006), CEN Expérimental (an approved clinical investigation center for human studies), CEN Nutrition Animale (companion-animal nutrition trials, founded 2014), CEN Connect (digital health applications and evaluation/training tools, founded 2016), and Apsis (consulting and training in health information systems), together with a regional Maghreb entity. The group serves pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, health food and dietary supplement firms, cosmetics manufacturers, animal nutrition companies, and connected health object developers across France and the Maghreb region.
The group's core technology is clinical evaluation infrastructure — comprising an approved clinical investigation center, multi-vertical study design and execution capabilities, and a digital health software arm — supported by a methodological track record of over 1,500 scientific publications and communications, including more than 200 Medline-indexed papers. All group companies hold French Crédit Impôt Recherche (Research Tax Credit) approval, signaling recognized R&D status under French regulatory standards. The legal entity CEN RESEARCH is registered in Dijon with share capital of €822,000.
Groupe CEN operates a B2B professional services model, generating revenue through project-based and contract engagements with enterprise clients in regulated health industries. The group goes to market through direct enterprise sales engagement, supported by a digital presence (LinkedIn, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook, newsletter, and a scientific publications portal). Pricing is not publicly disclosed and is structured as quote-based given the specialized, custom nature of each study. The company is privately held with no public listing and no observed external funding activity.
CEN firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- CEN
- Legal name
- CEN RESEARCH
- Website
- https://groupecen.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1995
- Operating status
- Operating
- Short description
- Groupe CEN is a French clinical evaluation services group operating six specialized subsidiaries from Dijon, providing clinical trials and observational studies to pharmaceutical, medical device, health food, dietary supplement, cosmetics, and animal nutrition companies.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
CEN industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Clinical Research Services
- NAICS
- Other Scientific and Technical Consulting Services (541690), Research and Development in Biotechnology (except Nanobiotechnology) (541714)
- SIC
- Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Central Laboratory & Clinical Trial Testing CROs (HLAGAAAE)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Medical Writing & Regulatory Submission Support CROs (HLAGAAAG), Clinical Research & Trial Central Laboratories (HLAFAMAL)
Keywords
Where CEN is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Dijon
- HQ country
- France
- HQ region
- Europe
Offices2 records
Markets served
CEN business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Clinical Trial Services: Professional services revenue generated from conducting clinical trials, observational studies, pharmaco-epidemiological studies, pharmaco-economic studies, and post-marketing studies for pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers, health food companies, and cosmetics companies. Services are likely structured as project-based or contract engagements.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels7 records
CEN product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Groupe CEN delivers B2B clinical evaluation services, designing and running clinical trials, observational studies, pharmaco-epidemiological, pharmaco-economic, and post-marketing studies for drugs, medical devices, health food, dietary supplements, cosmetics, connected health objects, and companion animal nutrition. The group operates an approved clinical investigation center and develops digital health applications and training solutions through its specialized subsidiaries.
Product overview
Groupe CEN is a group of 6 companies dedicated to clinical evaluation services for human and animal health. The portfolio includes: CEN Biotech (clinical trials for drugs and medical devices, founded 1995), CEN Nutriment (clinical studies on dietary supplements and health food, founded 2006), CEN Expérimental (clinical investigation center for human evaluation), CEN Nutrition Animale (animal nutrition clinical trials, founded 2014), CEN Connect (digital health solutions and applications, founded 2016), and Apsis (health IT consulting and training). The companies collectively hold over 1500 scientific publications and communications.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- CEN Biotech
- CEN Nutriment
- CEN Expérimental
- CEN Nutrition Animale
- CEN Connect
- Apsis
- CEN Maghreb Regional entity dedicated to clinical evaluation of medications and medical devices, supporting Groupe CEN's Maghreb presence.
Companies that use CEN
Customer profileSegments5 records
Ideal customer profiles6 records
CEN technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature3 records
CEN partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- OVH SASminorOVH SAS provides web hosting services for the Groupe CEN website. Located at 2 rue Kellermann, 59100 Roubaix, France, OVH is a European cloud infrastructure provider.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights5 records
CEN competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Biotrial: Biotrial is a French-based CRO conducting clinical trials and early-phase studies, headquartered in Rennes. It is highly comparable to Groupe CEN as a France-headquartered CRO serving pharmaceutical sponsors with clinical evaluation services, though Biotrial is more focused on early-phase CNS research.
- Mérieux NutriSciences: Mérieux NutriSciences provides testing, clinical research, and regulatory services for the food, nutrition, and cosmetics industries. Comparable to CEN Nutriment as a provider of clinical evaluation and claims substantiation services for health food, supplements, and cosmetic products.
Broad incumbents
- Eurofins Scientific: Eurofins is a global leader in bioanalytical testing and contract laboratory services for the pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetics industries. It is comparable to Groupe CEN as a large incumbent providing clinical and product evaluation services across pharma, nutrition, and cosmetics verticals.
- IQVIA: IQVIA is the world's largest CRO, offering full-service clinical trial execution, real-world evidence, and consulting. It is broadly comparable to Groupe CEN as a clinical evaluation services provider to pharma and medical device companies, though it operates at vastly greater scale.
- ICON plc: ICON plc is a global CRO providing clinical research, consulting, and laboratory services to pharmaceutical and medical device companies. Comparable to Groupe CEN as a clinical evaluation services provider, though at much larger scale and broader geographic reach.
- Charles River Laboratories: Charles River Laboratories is a global CRO providing preclinical and clinical research services, including biomedical research and clinical trial support. Comparable to Groupe CEN as a CRO serving pharma and medical device companies with research and evaluation services.
- SGS Health Sciences: SGS provides clinical research, bioanalytical, and pharmaceutical testing services across multiple verticals including nutrition, cosmetics, and medical devices. Comparable to Groupe CEN as a multi-vertical contract research and testing services provider.
- Syneos Health: Syneos Health is a global biopharmaceutical services organization offering clinical development and commercialization services. Comparable to Groupe CEN as a clinical research services provider to pharmaceutical companies, though operating at much larger scale.
Emerging players
- Pharmalex: Pharmalex is a regulatory and medical writing CRO providing submission, scientific writing, and consulting services to pharma and medical device companies. Comparable to part of Groupe CEN's biotech and regulatory scientific publication capabilities, though with a tighter focus on submission support.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses1 record
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
CEN social profiles
Digital presenceCEN financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
CEN leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
CEN subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries7 records
CEN funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
CEN M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about CEN
What does CEN do?
Groupe CEN delivers B2B clinical evaluation services, designing and running clinical trials, observational studies, pharmaco-epidemiological, pharmaco-economic, and post-marketing studies for drugs, medical devices, health food, dietary supplements, cosmetics, connected health objects, and companion animal nutrition. The group operates an approved clinical investigation center and develops digital health applications and training solutions through its specialized subsidiaries.
Is CEN a public or private company?
CEN is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was CEN founded?
CEN was founded in 1995.
Where is CEN based?
CEN is headquartered in Dijon, France, in the Europe region.
How does CEN make money?
One revenue line is on record: clinical Trial Services.
Who are CEN's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Biotrial and Mérieux NutriSciences. Broad incumbents are Eurofins Scientific, IQVIA, ICON plc, Charles River Laboratories, SGS Health Sciences and Syneos Health. Pharmalex is listed as an emerging player.
Does CEN have an API?
No public API is recorded for CEN.
What industry is CEN in?
CEN's product category is Clinical Research Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLAGAAAE, Central Laboratory & Clinical Trial Testing CROs, with a secondary code of HLAGAAAG, Medical Writing & Regulatory Submission Support CROs. Its NAICS code is 541690 and its SIC code is 8731.