A story made in France
70 years of a human adventure.
You don't give your all without a good reason... At Expanscience, we help individuals shape their well-being, from the youngest to the oldest.
It's what has inspired us to move forward, carry out research, and innovate for over 70 years!
A responsible and committed company
We’ll state it up front: the Expanscience teams are proud to work for a French family-owned group. Why? Because this explains our roots and our ability to have a long-term vision.
We know where we come from and where we’re going. This enables us to make strong strategic choices that are often pioneering, such as the decision made in 2004 by our President, Jean-Paul Berthomé, to voluntarily commit Expanscience to a Corporate Social Responsibility policy.
Two men, one French company
What we are today we owe to an encounter between two men in 1950. On the one hand, Paul Berthomé (father of the current president of Expanscience), a businessman and industrialist. On the other, Claude Guillon, a pharmacist.
Together, they decided to undertake the design, production and marketing of a lotion for babies that cleansed tender skin while moisturizing it. At the time, this was a revolution, as was the wish to develop and manufacture using the same quality criteria as those drawn up for pharmaceutical products.
It was the birth of our Mustela brand and the start of our company adventure!
A 70-year saga
1950
The adventure starts with the creation of Laboratoires Expanscience and our Mustela brand.
1977
We use our know-how in the area of fatty substances and molecular distillation to create a cosmetic active ingredients business.
1982
The Mustela Foundation is created to support research projects focusing on child development and parenting.
1992
With Piascledine 300, we enter the Rheumatology area and provide support for patients suffering from osteoarthritis.
2004
Building on our values and the commitment of our teams, we join the United Nations Global Compact.
2013
Our CSR policy is recognized as “Exemplary” with the CSR Committed label
2018
Our company takes another step forward by becoming the world’s first pharmaceutical and dermo-cosmetics laboratory to receive B Corp certification.
2021
We launch our impACT strategy to become a regenerative company with a positive impact by 2030/2040.
2021
We become a mission-driven company: a major step forward in transitioning to a model with a positive impact.
2023
We are acquiring Sublimed, a French Medtech start-up specialized in the development of medical devices for managing chronic pain.
Epernon, the heart and lungs
In 1957, the two founders of Expanscience decided to implant their production site at Epernon, a small town in the Eure-et-Loir department.
Since then, the town and our laboratory have written their history together. This site has never stopped being at the core of our transformations and development.
71%
of purchases made in France
59.6
million products manufactured in 2023
All the French know-how of Expanscience radiates throughout the word from Epernon. Our historical site is home to both our Innovation, Research and Development (IR&D) and production teams, representing approximately 300 employees.
1,097
patents applied for worldwide since 1997
2.3%
of turnover was invested in IR&D in 2023
Our local implantation at Epernon is an integral part of our identity and commitment. Our site is fully part of local and departmental life and is one of the local economic lungs.
11%
is the percentage of jobs in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics and chemical sector we represent in Eure-et-Loir
There is greenwashing... and then there are committed companies like Expanscience. As proof of this, our Epernon site is the first place where we apply our commitments to societal and environmental responsibility. It has thus been recognized with a number of certifications for quality, management and environmental protection.
100 %
renewable electricity purchased at Epernon since 2018
2
ISO 14001 and ISO 45001 certifications and an HQE (High Environmental Quality) building
The family continues to grow with Sublimed
In 2023 we acquired the French start-up Sublimed, as part of our commitment to developing new solutions for relieving osteoarthritis-related knee pain.
Sublimed is a Medtech specialized in the development of medical devices for managing chronic pain, with which we have been working since 2016 and which contributed a great deal to developing VitaliTENS*, a transcutaneous electrical neurostimulation medical device that acts as a drug-free alternative to painkillers.
Our shared goal? To act on chronic pain while offering drug-free solutions, in particular for osteoarthritis of the knee. We do this by working with health professionals and people experiencing chronic pain, on the principle of open innovation.
This merger enables us to have better control of our value chain and to join forces with a company whose values we share, including choosing to manufacture in France, incorporating sustainable development issues into the company strategy and supporting the United Nations Global Compact.
*VitaliTENS is a Medical Device designed to treat chronic knee pain in adults suffering from knee arthritis (1). This medical device is a regulated health product which bears CE marking, in accordance with the same regulation. Manufactured by Sublimed (813 959 012 RCS Grenoble, France). Distributed by Laboratoires Expanscience: 1 place des Saisons, 92048 Paris La Défense Cedex, France (RCS Nanterre B 331 930 081).
(1) VitaliTENS leaflet. Read the instructions in the leaflet carefully. ASK YOUR DOCTOR FOR ADVICE.
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