Animal cell technology is becoming an increasingly important part of biotechnology and many products are now used in human health care and for veterinary applications. However, there are many times more products actually in the developmental pipelines of the biotechnology industry, including various phases of clinical trials. The Proceedings of the 15th Meeting of the European Society for Animal Cell Technology (Tours, France, September 1997) presents the actual current state as well as New Developments and Applications in Animal Cell Technology for the benefit of society. These Proceedings represent both the current state and applications of animal cell technology and the way the technology is expanding into new areas to give a unique insight into new products and applications for human and animal health care.