Brightflow welcomes Sophie Humbert as CEO

Seasoned medical device and cardiovascular professional will shape strategic vision of company and set up operations with view to commercializing implantable system

Paris, France, August 27, 2024 – Brightflow SAS, a privately-held medical device company and pioneer in the field of percutaneous Right Ventricular (RV) mechanical support, today announces the appointment of Sophie Humbert as chief executive officer (CEO).

Brightflow is one of a handful of medical device companies pioneering developments to better manage right heart failure, which occurs when the right ventricle (RV) loses its ability to pump blood to the lungs. In an underserved market, Brightflow aims to make available the first long-term percutaneously implantable system to support RV failure without the need for open-heart surgery.

Sophie Humbert comes to Brightflow with a solid track-record in bringing innovative products to market. She has structured companies from early-stage, leading them through product development to obtain regulatory approvals, to market launch, with a strategic insight into supply chain management during the commercialization stage. Throughout a company’s journey, she has helped it and its staff grow and reach their full potential.

“Brightflow is delighted to welcome Sophie, whose decades of medical device and cardiovascular experience and extensive network make her the right person to drive the company’s success, as it enters its next development phase,” said Pascal Lim, MD, PhD, president of Brightflow. “With Sophie leading the industrial and market vision, and taking charge of the company structure, we will strengthen our path forward to finalizing product development and commercializing our implant.”

Sophie will be responsible for defining the right strategy to make the implantable system ready for patient use. Her mission includes structuring the company, building up a strong team and leading it, in order to add value to the endeavor.

“I was attracted to Brightflow’s smart concept for supporting right heart failure. By bringing this groundbreaking cardiovascular technology to market, I’m confident that we can change the lives of millions of patients for whom no real option exists today. The expertise of the R&D team and the quality of its leadership convinced me to join the Brightflow team,” said Sophie Humbert.

Sophie Humbert is a seasoned professional with more than 20 years of experience in the medical device industry, with proven leadership, team building and strategic skills. Before joining Brightflow, Sophie served as chief operating officer (COO) at LimFlow (Paris, France and San Jose, US), recently acquired by Inari Medical for up to $415M. There, she developed solid experience in bringing innovative products to market and demonstrated an aptitude for operations and taking products from concept to commercialization. Prior to LimFlow, she was COO at Arterial Remodeling Technologies (Paris and Besançon, France), where she succeeded in bringing a bioresorbable coronary stent to CE marking and developed the next-generation drug-coated device in partnership with Terumo (Japan). On top of her operational experience, she also acquired executive leadership expertise serving seven years as CEO at CERMA and cermaVEIN (Archamps, France).

Sophie holds a doctorate in industrial pharmacy from the Université Claude Bernard, Lyon 1 (France) and a doctorate in pharmaceutical sciences from the University of Geneva (Switzerland). She also has a master’s degree in management from EM Lyon (France).

About Brightflow

Founded in 2020, Brightflow is a medical device startup based in Paris, France. The team’s vision is to bring to market the first long-term mechanically assisted device to support RV failure without the need for open-heart surgery.