Circum Medtech Pharma is an innovative company launched in 2024, operating as a CDMO (Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization) in the field of medical devices.
Headquartered in Nice, at the heart of the international Grand Arénas business district, with an industrial site in Tunisia and a strategic foothold in Switzerland, the company combines experience, agility, and European ambition.
Joint interview with its three co-founders (pictured): On the right, Anne Reiser (President), in the center, Mohamed Rekik (CEO), and on the left, Serge Barneaud (CTO).
How was Circum Medtech Pharma created?
Anne Reiser (President): Circum was born from both a professional and human connection.
I was involved in a start-up for which Serge and Mohamed had subcontracted part of the development — the device they worked on was a model of reliability. They later moved on to other activities, and at the end of 2023, I was informed they were planning to launch their own structure. Their expertise, rigor, and complementary skills convinced me to join this new venture.
We formalized our partnership at the end of 2023, and the project truly began in March-April 2024.
What convinced me to follow them was their comprehensive and meticulous approach, their attention to detail, their obsession with quality, and their ability to design products that are ready for large-scale industrialization. Together, we have over 70 years of experience in the Medtech sector.
Serge Barneaud (CTO) :
Mohamed and I wanted to bring meaning back to our work and provide concrete answers to market needs. We aimed to fully realize our vision: a true partnership model with our clients, where we could leverage our expertise in design, industrialization, and regulatory affairs. With Anne contributing strategic insight and funding capacity, everything fell into place naturally.
Mohamed Rekik (CEO) : We are a multidisciplinary team driven by our passion for MedTech and innovation, with a strong culture of product excellence, performance, and proximity. This forms a solid foundation of trust to build a company that is ambitious, human-centric, and high-performing.
Our DNA lies in developing innovative and reliable products that bring real added value to patient care — always working transparently and closely with our clients, whom we see as genuine partners.
What does Circum Medtech Pharma do today?
Mohamed Rekik : We are a CDMO specializing in medical devices and, more broadly, life sciences. We have strong expertise in medical plastics.
We support our clients — from start-ups to large corporations — throughout the entire product life cycle: from design to market.
This includes design, prototyping, industrialization, CE marking, MDSAP, U.S. registration, certification, production, packaging, sterilization, and logistics.
It’s a fully integrated, customized offer.
We focus on pragmatic advice and solutions that allow our clients to minimize investment and accelerate market access.
Anne Reiser : Our operational headquarters is in Nice, where a core team of about fifteen people works across R&D, design, industrialization, regulatory affairs, quality assurance, supply chain, finance, and operations management..
Nice is the group’s operational center.
We also have a base in Switzerland, in the Zurich area, which facilitates relationships with our Swiss and German clients, who account for 80% of our activity.
Additionally, we operate a production site in Tunisia, just 1 hour and 15 minutes by flight from Nice and 10 minutes from the airport. It’s in a bonded zone, enabling optimized logistics: products can be shipped on Saturday and available in Vitrolles by Tuesday.
At this site, we handle plastic injection, tube extrusion, manual and semi-automated assembly, packaging, and sterilization.
What are your key differentiators and strengths?
Serge Barneaud : We are ISO 13485 certified, but beyond compliance, our integrated model is a real asset. It avoids disconnects between design, regulation, and production. We reduce lead times, costs, and uncertainty. This accelerates time-to-market, which is especially critical for start-ups. Our integration stands out compared to models that outsource each product development phase.
Mohamed Rekik : We also design with industrialization in mind from the very beginning. Too often, projects neglect this early on, leading to production issues later. We factor in all constraints upfront to streamline and secure manufacturing — and lower costs, which is essential for single-use devices.
Our internal motto, Smarter, Faster, Simply Better, embodies the promise we make to our clients.
We also offer flexibility to large industrial groups needing modular solutions for non-automated lines.
Finally, we’re a credible alternative for European clients seeking to cut costs, reduce their carbon footprint, and benefit from near-Europe manufacturing capacity.
Anne Reiser : We also support clients through the CE marking of their devices. This is a distinctive capability — it allows start-ups to delegate this step without building internal processes from scratch. Each marking is unique to the product, and we tailor our support to the maturity of each project.
What are your development prospects?
Mohamed Rekik : Our Tunisian production site currently has 80 staff, and we plan to grow to 200 employees within two to three years on a new 4,000 m² facility, set to launch in the coming weeks.
Our goal is to build a competitive, high-performance, and agile industrial tool to serve European projects.
We also aim to expand into electro-medical devices. We’re preparing a dedicated lab for developing and validating machines that combine electronics and software.
Serge Barneaud : We are finalizing an ISO 7 cleanroom at our Tunisian site. It’s compliant with both pharma and Medtech standards. We already manufacture devices used in vaccine production there. We’ll soon integrate plastic injection, sterilization, and other capabilities into the cleanroom. We’re also working on concrete projects such as a smart cannula for the detection and treatment of cancer cells.
Why did you choose Nice Côte d’Azur for your headquarters?
Mohamed Rekik : It’s both a personal and strategic decision. Serge is originally from the region, and I’ve been living here for over ten years. But Nice is more than just a great place to live — it’s ideally located, with an international airport just five minutes from our offices. That makes it easy for clients, partners, and for traveling to Tunisia and Switzerland.
Anne Reiser : The local ecosystem is highly supportive. There’s a dense network of life sciences research centers — such as the Institute of Molecular and Cellular Pharmacology (IPMC), university hospitals, the Institute of Biology of Valrose (iBV), and the INCa-funded Impulsion program managed by IHU RespirERA. Sophia Antipolis is also nearby.
You’ll find international talent, collaborative projects, and real momentum in the health-tech space.
Serge Barneaud : And clients love coming to Nice. Within minutes of landing, they’re at our offices. That kind of logistical convenience is a clear business advantage. Nice Côte d’Azur has everything it takes to attract other Medtech companies to the region.
What kind of relationship are you looking to build with Team Nice Côte d’Azur?
Anne Reiser : We see Team Nice Côte d’Azur as a trusted partner, capable of supporting our regional development.
Serge Barneaud : We count on them to connect us with the right institutional and economic players — such as BPI, regional investment funds, competitiveness clusters, and public decision-makers.
Mohamed Rekik : Our ambition is clear: to become a major company, rooted in the Côte d’Azur and thriving internationally. We want this collaboration to be long-term.
Website : https://www.circummedtechpharma.com/
