Bernard launched the iBionext ecosystem in 2012 by successfully co-founding several high potential Health Tech start-ups. He is currently non-executive chairman of seven companies and CEO of GenSight Biologics and BrainEver.

Prior to that, Bernard was Chairman and CEO of Fovea Pharmaceuticals, a biotech company he founded in 2005 and sold to Sanofi in 2009 for €370m before becoming Senior VP of the Ophthalmology Division of Sanofi until 2012.

From 2000 to 2005, Bernard was a Partner at Sofinnova Partners. He founded and invested in several companies, including Sequoia Pharmaceuticals (USA), Faust Pharmaceuticals (France, now Domain Therapeutics) and Cellzome (Germany).

Prior to joining Sofinnova, Bernard was President and CEO of Transgene, a company he drove from its early financing round in 1994 to its dual listing on the Nasdaq and the Nouveau Marché (Now Euronext-C) in1998, successfully raising €160m.

Before Transgene, Bernard spent 6 years as VP R&D at Pasteur-Mérieux-Connaught, now Sanofi Pasteur. He managed 1,200 scientists and R&D engineers at three major facilities (France, the United States and Canada) and served on the group’s executive committee.

From 2005 to 2015, Alexia was Partner and Head of Healthcare at Omnes Capital (Ex-Crédit Agricole Private Equity). She co-headed the management of the 26 innovative funds in venture capital (from fund raising to distribution and liquidation) as part of the transition of Crédit Agricole Private Equity into an independent management company. Focused on disruptive technologies, Alexia has grown the healthcare investments from 15% to 50% at Omnes. She started a new Medtech portfolio and invested in miniaturization, minimally invasive technologies, and connected devices by anticipating moves in industry trends. She focused on balancing the healthcare portfolio between biotech and medtech, with a focus on short investment cycles. When Omnes funds had the necessary financial capacity, she took the lead successfully and set up international syndicates when possible. Over this period, she sat on more than 10 board of Directors in both private and public companies and was involved in 8 exits by Trade sale or IPO.

Alexia joined the Venture Capital space in 1999 as investment manager at Sofinnova Partners, where she was involved in the selection and creation of several successful investments (Innate Pharma, Addex Pharmaceuticals, Faust Pharmaceuticals).

Prior to switching to venture capital, Alexia started her career as a project leader at Chiron Vaccines and participated in many WHO and Children Vaccine’s Initiative meetings to explore future biotech needs in Emerging countries. She later joined Parteurop Développement where she oversaw many operational missions to identify M&A opportunities and define the strategy of several French and US start-ups.

Alexia holds an MAE from IAE and an MSc in Neurosciences from University of Life Sciences – Inserm, Lyon.