ABSTRACT
Biotechnologyoffers a wide range of techniques that can be applied in the areas of agriculture, industry, energy, the environment and human and animal healthcare.1
The diffusion of such techniques has not given rise to a biotechnology industry, but they have significantly influenced research and innovation in various sectors, notably the seeds and pharmaceutical industry. Rising numbers of new transgenic crops and drugs under clinical trials testify to the economic transformation triggered by the new technologies (Dhar and Chaturvedi, 2000, p10).
