Genera istraživanja, known as Genera Research, a company founded in Croatia in October 2001 and directed by Slobodan Vukičević and Dora Adanić, develops OSTEOGROW, a bone regeneration drug made of recombinant human bone morphogenetic protein 6 (rhBMP6) delivered in a clot of the patient's own blood instead of the bovine collagen carrier used by earlier BMP products. Its EIC Accelerator project, OSTEOforUNION, "Drug solution for bone fracture nonunions", receives an EU contribution of €2,499,999 and runs from January 2025 to December 2026, according to CORDIS. It targets OSTEOGROW-C, a version with tricalcium phosphate ceramics for fractures that fail to heal, where no biological drug is approved and surgeons harvest bone from the patient's hip.
The report says the project optimised and scaled rhBMP6 production to pharmaceutical GMP standards, refined the OSTEOGROW-C kit, and selected clinical sites in the EU, UK and US that have supplied lists of eligible patients, according to CORDIS. The pivotal Phase II/III trial, called OCEAN, "is under regulatory exploration", and its protocol "is under discussion with EMA, MHRA and FDA". The overall objective is to complete late-stage clinical development so that OSTEOGROW-C becomes the first approved biological treatment for nonunions. No OSTEOGROW trial is listed on ClinicalTrials.gov or the EU Clinical Trials Information System.
Company file
- Legal entity
- Genera istraživanja d.o.o., OIB 48576252738
- Founded
- 16 October 2001
- Directors
- Slobodan Vukičević, Dora Adanić
- Location
- Žitarka, Sveta Nedelja, near Zagreb
- Products
- OSTEOGROW, OSTEOGROW-A (spine), OSTEOGROW-C (nonunions)
- Research partner
- University of Zagreb School of Medicine
- EIC funding
- Blended finance, €2.5M grant
Where Genera Research Stands Now
Genera's total income, which includes grants, rose from €706,032 in 2023 to €2,248,952 in 2025, with a profit of €82,506 and 11 employees, up from 3, according to FINA filings on Companywall. It reports no receivables from customers. The register lists Slobodan Vukičević, Reinhard Windhager and Dora Adanić among its owners; no outside equity round or EIC Fund investment has been announced. Its website still lists a management team that differs from the registered directors and contains placeholder text.
"OSTEOforUNION pivotal Phase II/III clinical trial for long bone fracture nonunions is under regulatory exploration."
Genera Research, EIC project reportThe Technology: A Clot as the Carrier
Earlier BMP drugs used bovine collagen as a carrier, which Genera calls inflammatory. OSTEOGROW binds rhBMP6 to a blood clot prepared in the operating room, and the -C version adds ceramic granules for mechanical strength. OSTEOGROW has been tested in 20 patients after high tibial osteotomy and 32 with wrist fractures, and OSTEOGROW-A in a 143-patient Phase II spinal fusion trial, according to Genera Research. Much of that work ran through EU research projects led by the University of Zagreb, including OSTEOproSPINE, a €6.0 million Horizon 2020 project from 2018 to 2023, according to CORDIS.
What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows
The project runs to December 2026, so it is too early to judge it. Manufacturing scale-up and site selection are reported. The central goal, late-stage clinical development, depends on a pivotal trial that has not been approved or registered, which means no patient in it can finish follow-up within the project.
- GMP rhBMP6 productionScalingProject report.
- OSTEOGROW-C kitRefinedProject report.
- Pivotal Phase II/III trialNot startedNot registered.
- Regulatory alignmentIn talksEMA, MHRA, FDA.
The Money
Genera's income tripled in two years while its filings show no receivables from customers, and its clinical programme has run largely through EU research grants. The EIC award was blended finance, but no EIC Fund investment or private round has been announced to pay for a pivotal trial across the EU, UK and US.
What Cannot Be Checked
Questions for the EIC
Whether the EIC Fund invested, how the pivotal trial will be financed, when regulators will authorise it, and how much of Genera's income comes from EU grants are not public.
Why Europe Should Care
The project description counts 180,000 diagnosed long bone nonunions a year in Europe. A drug that replaces bone harvesting would spare patients a second surgical site. Two decades of EU-funded research have not yet produced an approved product.
What the award promised
Late-stage clinical development toward the first approved nonunion drug.
What the record shows
Production scaled and sites chosen; pivotal trial still in regulatory talks.
The Verdict
The trial is the test
Genera has a plausible drug and years of public backing. Its pivotal trial has not begun.
Genera Research and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.
