A collection of executives from the region’s top hospitals will gather Tuesday in Kansas City, Kan., to officially mark a collaborative effort toward achieving National cancer institute designation.

REDWOOD CITY, CA and SINGAPORE (MARKET WIRE) XID Technologies, a Redwood City, Calif. and Singapore-based innovative facial recognition company, today announced that the company's facial synthesis technology has earned the top prize in the "Technology Innovation in Stand-Off Recognition of Biometrics" category at Frost & Sullivan's 2008 Asia Pacific Industrial Technologies Awards.

A spinoff from the university of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has won a $2 million federal grant to help it commercialize its medical technology.

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NC (MARKET WIRE) Many pharmaceutical companies have restructured their medical affairs departments in an effort to ensure OIG compliance, according to a report by Cutting Edge Information. According to Medical Affairs: Delivering Strategic Value, the percentage of medical affairs departments housed under marketing departments has decreased from 43% to 7% since 2002 (www.pharmamedicalaffairs.com). Instead, medical affairs is now a wholly dedicated department at many companies.

BOSTON, MA (MARKET WIRE) PHT Corporation, the market-leading provider of electronic patient reported outcome (ePRO) solutions used in more than 360 clinical trials worldwide, will convene pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry thought leaders at its sixth annual U.S. User Group Meeting. The comprehensive ePRO and eClinical meeting will take place from October 15-17 in historic Salem, Mass., and will feature keynote speakers including PRO expert Ethan Basch, MD, MSc., and Bio-IT World editor-in-chief Kevin Davies. Representatives from GlaxoSmithKline, Merck Research Laboratories, Sucampo Pharmaceuticals, and other

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, CA (MARKET WIRE) Cytokinetics, Incorporated (NASDAQ: CYTK) announced today the initiation of its third Phase IIa clinical trial evaluating CK-1827452, a novel cardiac myosin activator being developed by the company for the potential treatment of patients with either acutely decompensated or chronic heart failure. CK-1827452 is the subject of a Collaboration and Option Agreement between Cytokinetics and Amgen Inc.

Biogen Idec has begun testing the multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri as a treatment for blood cancer. (ELN)

Biogen Idec has begun testing multiple sclerosis drug Tysabri as a treatment for blood cancer. (ELN)