Biotechnology is a cross-section technology transferring new biological knowledge to marketable technologies and applications. In the recent past, more than other technology sectors, it has influenced the chemical, food and agricultural industries. Also the health economy has highly gained from biotechnology through new medication or innovative diagnostics.

The development of modern biotechnology triggers an enormous increase of knowledge at the „molecular“ level of bio science. The decoding of genetic information and the success in proteomics have led to a completely new concept of biochemical basics in living matters. That leads to ultimate various biotechnological processes and products ranging from microbiological production of fine chemicals to genetically modified plants and biotechnological vaccines.

The wide range of modern biotechnology is often characterised by three large fields of application. White biotechnology involves the biological production of chemicals and agents and is aimed at ecologically and economically optimised processes in contrast to the traditional production of chemicals. Green biotechnology mainly develops innovative processes for the improvement of food (e.g. functional food) and for the optimisation of agricultural crops (e.g. drought resistance). Red biotechnology uses molecular and cell biological knowledge to develop and produce new therapeutics and diagnostics.