Senior Management from Philips Electronics North America (Andover, Massachusetts), a unit of Royal Philips Electronics, together with Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick, said that Andover, Massachusetts, will serve as the company's new North American headquarters.

As a result of this move, Massachusetts now has the largest Philips presence in North America, with nearly 5,000 employees, six major worksites and significant manufacturing facilities.

"There are many compelling reasons for choosing Massachusetts as the place to relocate our regional headquarters," said Scott Weisenhoff, CEO for Philips Electronics North America. "Massachusetts is the global headquarters for our healthcare business, and our Solid State Lighting business, which drives our leadership in energy-efficient lighting solutions. These are important growth engines for our company, making it imperative that our corporate office work closely with these business units to ensure growth. As Philips grows, so too will our investment in Massachusetts and North America."

Vermillion exploring alternatives

Vermillion (Fremont, California) reported hiring ThinkPanmure, an investment bank, to assist in identifying and evaluating alternatives intended to enhance the potential of the company's proteomic tests (OVA1 and VASCLIR) and pipeline of biomarkers.

"We continuously evaluate our strategic options to identify and develop prospects for maximizing value for all stockholders and look forward to working with ThinkPanmure in this regard," said Gail Page, president/CEO of Vermillion. "While reviewing the various alternatives, we will continue to advance our commercialization strategies, namely building marketplace awareness for our women's health, oncology, and cardiac programs which include the OVA1 and VASCLIR tests."

Vermillion makes diagnostic products for oncology, hematology, cardiology and women's health.