Australasian Biotechnology,
Volume 7 Number 1, January/February 1997, pp.40-47
Conference report
10th International Biotechnology Symposium (continued from Volume 6,
Number 6 - December 1996)
Code Number: AU97002
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Text: 29.7K
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We are pleased to release the final technical reports on this highly
successful meeting held in Sydney last August.
Symposium III - Biocatalysis and Biotransformation
The Symposium was coordinated by Professor Hideaki Yamada(Toyama
University) and Professor Peter Rogers (UNSW) and focussed on research and
commercial aspects of this rapidly developing field.Biocatalytic and
biotransformation processes are of increasing interest both as a result of
the unique and high degrees of specificity achieved by enzymatic reactions
and of the clinical problems which have occurred with racemic mixtures
produced in chemical synthesis of specific pharmaceutical compounds (eg
thalidomide).
Symposium IX - Agriculture & Food Biotechnology
The sessions were chaired by Dr Jim Peacock, CSIRO Division of Plant
Industry, Dr Stephen Hughes, Unilever Research, UK and Dr John Friend,
Burns Philp & Co. Limited, Sydney. They covered general considerations of
the impact of biotechnology on agriculture and food with specific examples
taken from broad acre crops, such as oil seeds, wheat, barley, as well as
vegetable and horticultural crops (cut flowers, potatoes, tomatoes) also
microbial modification of animal feeds to reduce the impact of intensive
animal raising on the environment; and finally genetic developments in the
areas of animal raising.
Symposium X - Gene Therapy and Tissue Engineering
The rollercoaster ride of "Gene Therapy and Tissue Engineering" was the
subject of Symposium X of the 10th International Biotechnology meeting.
Symposium XI - Antibody Engineering and Applications
Symposium XI was associated with the more recent developments in
antibody engineering, and some novel applications of monoclonal
applications to human therapy. Although there are a number of technologies
now available for producing human and humanised monoclonal antibodies
including CDR-grafting, use of transgenic mice with human immunoglobulin
gene loci, resurfacing of mouse antibodies (described by Professor Tony
Rees) and phage display, it would appear that the latter shows the most
promise in bringing fully human antibodies to the clinic.
Symposium XII - Genetically Engineered Vaccines
The genetically-engineered vaccines symposium covered a diverse range of
topics such as modified bacteria for mucosal immunisation, immuno therapy
of infectious and noninfectious diseases, technologies such as DNA
immunisation and adjuvants, and manufacture of a recombinant insect cell
expression influenza vaccine.
Copyright 1997 Australian Biotechnology Association Ltd.