Royal Philips Electronics and BG Medicine have established an alliance in the field of systems biology. Under the partnership agreement BG Medicine will collaborate with Philips to develop the next generation of molecular healthcare products for application in areas such as molecular imaging and point-of-care diagnostics. Key to the alliance is BGM's proprietary systems profiling technologies that identify biomarker sets associated with disease stage, progression and treatment. BG Medicine has granted Philips preferential access to certain of its proprietary technologies and services, and Philips has acquired a minority stake in BG Medicine, which is privately held and based in Waltham, Massachusetts. Read the press release.

Phase Forward announced the immediate availability of version 2.0 of the Electronic Case Submissions Module (ECSM). The ECSM, together with the Clintrace adverse event tracking and reporting system, provides a comprehensive solution for safety data collection, management and submission. The ECSM streamlines the exchange of electronic case safety information with regulatory agencies, affiliate offices and trading partners. Version 2.0 is designed to adhere to the FDA's latest Electronic Submission Gateway (ESG) standards. Read the press release.

Aviva Systems Biology announced the launch of a custom service for their novel ChIP-GLAS system. ChIP-GLAS (Chromatin Immunoprecipitation- Guided Ligation And Selection) is a very sensitive method for genome-wide detection of promoters and enhancers that interact with proteins or carry modifications, such as methylation, that affect gene expression. This new service allows researchers to send in their cell/tissue samples or chromatin immunoprecipitated (ChIP) DNA samples, and in return, receive a list of potentially enriched genes. Read the press release.

Sigma-Aldrich Corp. announced that it has acquired Pharmorphix Limited, a privately held firm based in Cambridge, UK, that offers solid-form research services to the global pharmaceutical and biotech markets. The addition of Pharmorphix will broaden SAFC Pharma's manufacturing services customer base and enhance its technology services offering for existing customers. Read the press release.