18^th Biotechnology Congress October 19-20, 2017 New York, USA

Medical biotechnology refers to a medicinal or diagnostic product or a vaccine that consists of or has been produced in living organisms and may be manufactured via recombinant. Medical Biotechnology  has a tremendous impact on meeting the needs of patients and their families as it not only encompasses medicines and diagnostics that are manufactured using a biotechnological process, but also gene and cell therapies and tissue engineered products.

Today, the majority of innovative medicines, whether manufactured using biotechnology or via a chemical synthesis like a traditional small molecule medicine, as well as many diagnostic products, are made available by applying modern biotechnology in their development and manufacturing.

Pharmaceutical Biotechnology is the science that covers all technologies required for producing, manufacturing and registration of biological drugs. Pharmaceutical Biotechnology is an increasingly important area of science and technology. The Pharmaceutical Biotechnology is widely spread, ranging from many ethical issues to changes in healthcare practices and a significant contribution to the development of national economy. Biotech drug makers essentially use those microorganisms or highly complex proteins from genetically-modified living cells as components in medications to treat various diseases and conditions, from cancer to rheumatoid arthritis to multiple sclerosis. Unlike pharma companies, biotechnology focus primarily on research and development, this begins with the discovery of novel compounds, which then convoy into the clinic for further testing.

Environmental biotechnology is biotechnology that is applied to and used to study the natural environment. Environmental biotechnology could also imply that one try to harness biological process for commercial uses and exploitation. The International Society for Environmental Biotechnology defines environmental biotechnology as "the development, use and regulation of biological systems for remediation of contaminated environments (land, air, water), and for environment-friendly processes (green manufacturing technologies and sustainable development).

Marine Biotechnology is a relatively new field of study, having emerged in the past few years.  It began in 1998 when scientists from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and various departments of the University of California, San Diego, came together and formed the Center for Marine Biotechnology and Biomedicine.

The Specialty Marine Biotechnology is intended to host scientific contributions in marine science that are based on the enormous biodiversity of marine ecosystems and the genetic uniqueness of marine organisms to develop useful products and applications.

Food biotechnology encompasses the use of living organisms to make products, to improve plants or animals, or to develop microbes for specific uses. It includes genetically modified (GM) crops, functional foods, aquaculture as well as more traditional food products such as cheeses, breads and beer. It is estimated that in the next 20-30 years demand for food will increase by 70%. Biotechnology will be key to meeting this demand. In the US there is a general public acceptance of biotech-enabled innovation in food and in North America, more than 60% of all processed food products are reported to contain GM ingredients. Consumer resistance to GM crop and foods containing GM ingredients remains high in Europe and there are significant regulatory constraints.

Animal biotechnology is a branch of biotechnology in which molecular biology techniques are used to genetically engineer animals in order to improve their suitability for pharmaceutical, agricultural or industrial applications. Many animals also help by serving as models of disease.  If an animal gets a disease that's similar to humans, we can use that animal to test treatments.  Animals are often used to help us understand how new drugs will work and whether or not they'll be safe for humans and effective in treating disease.

Industrial and Microbial Biotechnology uses enzymes and micro-organisms to make biobased products in sectors such as chemicals, food and feed, detergents, paper and pulp, textiles and bioenergy (such as biofuels or biogas). In doing so, it uses renewable raw materials and is one of the most promising, innovative approaches towards lowering greenhouse gas emissions. The application of industrial biotechnology has been proven to make significant contributions towards mitigating the impacts of climate change in these and other sectors.

In addition to environmental benefits, biotechnology can improve industry’s performance and product value and, as the technology develops and matures, white biotechnology will yield more and more viable solutions for our environment. These innovative solutions bring added benefits for both our climate and our economy.