Biotechnology: from Innovation to Industrial Production

10 May 2017. Gent. In many parts of the world a knowledge-based bio-economy is emerging using
eco-efficient bio-processes and renewable biological resources to create new value chains. These innovations are enabled by unprecedented advances in biotechnology offering new technological solutions for sustainable agricultural development and the production of food, feed, fiber, energy and improved health care from renewable biomass or underutilized biological resources.

The 2017 IIBN Forum brought together experts in the area of biotechnology who addressed the industrial chain from innovation to the market side. The focus is to promote value creation beyond food production to support sustainable development in Africa and other developing countries.

SPEAKERS:

• Perspective UN Industrial Development Organization - Yvonne Lokko – United Nations Industrial Development Organization, Austria
• Can Genetically Modified Crops Contribute to Food Security and Sustainable Agricultural Development?  Matin Qaim – University of Göttingen, Germany
  Many countries in Africa and Asia have established EU-style regulatory systems (and attitudes) that are stricter and more complex than for any other agricultural technology. The effects of over regulation are: (a)Fuels public notion that GM crops are dangerous (b) Makes technology unnecessarily expensive (c) Contributes to industry concentration (multinationals) (d) Contributes to focus on large countries, large crops, and traits of large commercial interest (e) Poor countries and people suffer most from overregulation (f) EU anti-biotech attitudes have far-reaching global implications.
• Glycosylation as a Major Deciding Factor in Biopharmaceutical Expression System Choice - Nico Callewaert – VIB-UGent Center for Medical Biotechnology, Belgium
• Plant-Made Pharmaceuticals and Biomaterials: Novel Industrial Processes & Products Relevant to Developing Countries - Yuri Gleba – Icon Genetics, Germany
• Oxitec – From a Laboratory to a Factory - Amandine Collado – Oxytec, United Kingdom
• The Innovative Biobased Economy in Europe: Value, Partnerships & Investments - Dirk Carrez – Bio-based Industry Consortium, Belgium
• GFBiochemicals, the Engine to Valorize Levulinic Acid & Derivatives for or Society Today & Tomorrow - Rudy Parton – GF Biochemicals, Italy
• Synthesis of Specialty Carbohydrates using Industrial Biotechnology - Wim Soetaert – Inbiose, Belgium
• The Role of GlobalYeast in the World-Wide Transition to a Sustainable Biobased Economy - Johan Thevelein – GlobalYeast, Belgium
• Concluding Remarks - Marc Van Montagu – International Plant Biotechnology Outreach, VIB, Belgium

Related:
Published on 29 Sep 2013. Science Forum 2013. Plenary session: Evaluating nutrition and health outcomes of agriculture, Matin Qaim, University of Gottingen, main presentation: "How to Evaluate Nutrition and Health Impacts of Agricultural Innovations".