Biotechnology is the use of living systems and organisms to develop or make useful products, or any technological application that uses biological systems, living organisms or derivatives thereof, to make or modify products or processes for specific use. For thousands of years, humankind has used biotechnology in agriculture, food production, and medicine. Biotechnology has applications in four major industrial areas, including health care (medical), crop production and agriculture, non food (industrial) uses of crops and other products (e.g. biodegradable plastics, vegetable oil, bio-fuels), and environmental uses. The biotechnology market consists of the development, manufacturing, and marketing of products based on advanced biotechnology research. The global biotechnology market has total revenues of $304.0bn, representing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.6%. The medical/healthcare segment is the market’s most lucrative, with total revenues of $182.5bn, equivalent to 60.0% of the market’s overall value. The performance of the market is forecast to decelerate, with an anticipated CAGR of 9%, which is expected to drive the market to a value of $468.2bn.