Croatia positions itself as a regional leader in precision medicine

Croatia’s healthtech and biotech scene is entering a defining phase, and at the centre of it sits Professor Dragan Primorac, M.D., Ph.D. Dragan Primorac. A paediatrician, specialist in medical genetics, forensic geneticist, former minister of science, education and sports and founder of St. Catherine Specialty Hospital, Primorac has spent years building the kind of ecosystem most countries talk about but rarely deliver. What is now emerging in Croatia is a joined-up model of personalised medicine, digital health and biotech commercialisation that treats innovation not as a buzzword but as standard practice.

The story really plays out in two arenas. The first is inside Croatian clinics and hospitals, where the tools of next-generation medicine are being brought directly to patients. The second is in Croatian biotech labs, which are increasingly plugged into global research networks and, crucially, into live clinical environments at home..

Croatia is positioning itself as a regional leader in precision medicine, especially in oncology, orthopaedics and rare disease care. St. Catherine Specialty Hospital in Zagreb, founded by Primorac, has become known as a European centre of excellence for personalised medicine. The hospital has become a model of how genomics, AI diagnostics and regenerative medicine can be embedded into routine care rather than left in the realm of experimental trials.

Primorac’s team, working with partners including Dartmouth Health from United States and International Center for Applied Biological Research, has introduced clinical whole genome sequencing for patients in Croatia, and leveraging full-genome analysis as a daily decision-making tool rather than a research experiment. Soon after, the same team introduced molecular profiling of tumors using whole exome sequencing combined with transcriptomic analysis, performed on paraffin-embedded tissue samples. They also perform additional analyses of key tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes using blood-derived liquid biopsies. The goal of liquid biopsy is to detect circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA), enabling non-invasive monitoring of tumor dynamics and treatment response.

A multidisciplinary team led by Dragan Primorac and Parth Shah from Dartmouth Health, comprising researchers from St. Catherine Specialty Hospital, and the International Center for Applied Biological Research, have just published a comprehensive review article titled “Advances in Precision Oncology: From Molecular Profiling to Regulatory-Approved Targeted Therapies” in the journal Cancers.

This article stands out as one of the most thorough analyses to date on the integration of tumor molecular profiling with targeted cancer therapies. The authors provide an in-depth exploration of how next-generation DNA sequencing, combined with advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence, enables the identification of optimal targeted and immunotherapeutic strategies tailored to individual cancer types.

By systematically linking genomic alterations to approved therapeutic agents, the review aims to enhance the effectiveness and accessibility of precision oncology. Furthermore, it offers valuable insights that may inform future research directions and clinical decision-making in the field of cancer treatment.

In addition, St. Catherine team have combined multi-omics profiling, nutrigenomics, pharmacogenomics to match medication to individual genetic profiles, and microfragmented fat tissue containing mesenchymal stem cell treatments in orthopaedic pathways. In plain terms, the long-promised idea of giving each patient “the right treatment at the right time” is not theoretical in Croatia. It is already happening.

That is unusual. Many health systems fund pilot projects. Far fewer can point to a single institution acting simultaneously as a care provider, a translational research engine and a commercialisation platform. St. Catherine occupies that space. It tests advanced methods, validates them with academic and international partners, and then pushes them toward recognition as reimbursable medicine in Croatia and beyond.

At the same time, the country’s public health sector is openly moving toward AI-enabled and data-driven care. The Croatian Ministry of Health has said this year that artificial intelligence is already meaningfully present in hospitals, not as a branding exercise but in tools clinicians are actually relying on. An additional boost to AI-driven healthcare in Croatia comes from one of the world’s most significant scientific events, traditionally organized by Primorac in collaboration with Mayo Clinic, St. Catherine Specialty Hospital, and the International Society for Applied Biological Sciences (ISABS): the 14th ISABS and Mayo Clinic Conference: Advances in Application of Artificial Intelligence in Precision Medicine. Scheduled to take place in Dubrovnik from June 15 to 19, 2026, the conference will bring together over 700 participants, including five Nobel Laureates, to explore cutting-edge applications of artificial intelligence in genomics, personalized medicine, and biomedical research. More information is available at www.isabs.net. On the other hand, Primorac and his team several months ago published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences a groundbreaking advancement in the diagnosis of cancers of unknown primary origin (CUP) by using OncoOrigin, a machine-learning-based software designed at St. Catherine Hospital to identify the primary site of cancer using tumor DNA sequencing dana.

Radiology support systems, digital pathology workflows and robotic surgical platforms in areas such as urology, gynaecology and thoracic surgery are now described by officials as part of regular practice. The ministry has also tied this technological shift to regulatory alignment with the new European Health Data Space rules, aiming to build a national framework where patient data can be used, securely and legally, to improve care while respecting privacy. The message from government is that Croatia does not intend to keep advanced medicine in isolated private clinics. The goal is to normalise it across the health system.

That shift feeds talent and investment. If surgeons in Rijeka or Split are comfortable with robotic assistance, and radiologists in Zagreb are already using AI triage rather than working off emailed PDFs, then there is no longer a credibility gap for local founders. Healthtech entrepreneurs do not have to persuade Croatian clinicians that digital medicine is real. The clinicians are already asking what comes next.

Biotech in Central and Eastern Europe has been gathering momentum, particularly in gene-based diagnostics, regenerative medicine and novel therapeutics. Croatia is part of that wave, but it is distinguishing itself by being able to connect lab output back into a live, responsive clinical environment. This is where Primorac’s role becomes more than symbolic. He is not simply running a hospital. He sits on international bodies in personalised and regenerative medicine, he leads or co-leads national scientific societies and he collaborates with universities in Split, Osijek and Rijeka as well as with institutions in the United States. He serves as a Global Ambassador for Penn State University. Most recently, he was appointed Adjunct Professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, and several years prior, he was honored with the title of Professor Emeritus at the National Forensic Science University in India. His scientific collaborations span the globe, including partnerships with Bonus BioGroup Ltd. in Israel, Apex Heart Institute in India, Sana Kliniken AG in Germany, and numerous other leading institutionsThat network gives Croatian biotech something founders in larger markets often struggle to secure: fast, credible clinical validation.

The model is already making a visible impact in oncology. UPMC, one of the leading health system sin the United States, together with Primorac recently announced a strategic partnership with St. Catherine Hospital and The General Hospital Zabok and Croatian Veterans Hospital to extend advanced cancer services and personalised medicine across Croatia. The stated aim is not just to improve care for Croatian patients, but to make Croatia a regional hub so neighbouring countries can access the same level of precision oncology. It also appears in orthopaedics and regenerative treatments, where St. Catherine has developed a reputation for cartilage and bone repair techniques that marry clinical expertise with high-end lab work. Primorac has published extensively in this space, and those methods now travel across borders.

Private capital has taken notice. Regional investors have begun backing Croatian hospital assets in a way that keeps Croatian clinical leadership in place rather than replacing it. That is a sign that the intellectual property inside Croatian healthcare — methods, workflows, datasets, talent — is being treated as a strategic national asset. The bet is that Croatia can export not just doctors, but a model.

International outlets have called Primorac “a global leader in personalised medicine” and “a pioneer in the future of personalised medicine.” The language is flattering, but it reflects something real. He has helped bring whole genome sequencing, multi-omics analysis, AI-driven decision support and stem cell therapy into everyday Croatian practice. He has also pushed for regulation and reimbursement so these tools are not stuck as unfunded pilots. And he has built international partnerships that move in both directions. Expertise and technology are coming into Croatia, but Croatian innovation is also being positioned for export.

That combination is rare in any country. In Croatia, it is transformative. The national story is no longer that Croatia wants to “join” the healthtech and biotech economy. The story is that it is actively shaping one version of what that economy looks like: genomic medicine, robotics, AI and regenerative therapy treated as normal parts of care, with government signalling that it intends to scale them. Personalised medicine should not live in conference slides. It should live in European hospitals, right now.

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