Bridging the gap between research and industry

Biotechnology Symposium in Jena on December 2-3, 2014

| by Christine Vogler

Matthias Steinacker (Hans Knöll Institute) is operating the control unit of a fermenter.

There is a big gap between fundamental research and industrial application in the development of new medications against infectious diseases: Researchers discover novel active compounds, but these are rarely developed further in an industrial setting. Biotechnology is trying to bridge this gap. Internationally renowned biotechnologists meet in Jena to discuss current topics in the field.

The Symposium "Biotechnology of Natural Products" will provide a description of the state-of-the-art, but the German and American experts will further discuss the future of natural product research and development. "The symposium will lay the foundation for the extension of academic and applied biotechnology in Jena", announces the organizer of the symposium, Axel Brakhage, director of the Leibniz Institute for Natural Product Research and Infection Biology - Hans Knöll Institute and professor at Friedrich Schiller University Jena.