Aduro BioTech, of Berkeley, Calif., received two patents relating to its live attenuated and "killed by metabolically active" Listeria platforms. U.S. Patent No. 7,691 ,393 covers genetic modifications to Listeria, while U.S. Patent No. 7,695,725 pertains to the KBMA platform.

Aphios Corp., of Woburn, Mass., was granted U.S. Patent No. 7,744,935 B2, titled "Compositions and Methods for Inhibiting 5-alpha Reductase." It is related to compositions and methods for treating diseases involving the 5-alpha reductase enzyme.

Diffusion Pharmaceuticals LLC, of Charlottesville, Va., was granted U.S. Patent No. 7,759,506, titled "Bipolar Trans Carotenoid Salts and Their Uses." It covers drug formulation and use claims relating to the firm's entire family of new chemical entities treating conditions characterized by hypoxia.

Epeius Biotechnologies Corp., of San Marino, Calif., received a notice of allowance for a patent covering its tumor-targeted gene delivery platform, specifically protection for targeting metastatic disease.

Furiex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Morrisville, N.C., received U.S. Patent No. 7,718,705, covering the method for treating premature ejaculation using dapoxetine.

Generex Biotechnology Corp., of Worcester, Mass., said subsidiary Antigen Express Inc. was granted a composition-of-matter patent on AE37, its lead immunotherapeutic vaccine.

GlycoMimetics Inc., of Gaithersburg, Md., received U.S. Patent No. 7,728,117, covering GMI-1070, its drug candidate being tested in patients with vaso-occlusive crisis of sickle cell disease. A second patent, No. 7,741,312, contains claims covering a family of molecules that includes and extends beyond GMI-1070.

Integral Molecular Inc., of Philadelphia, was issued a patent covering the core composition of its technology, a cell-free format for deriving highly concentrated membrane proteins for antibody development, drug discovery and biomedical research.

Miraculins Inc., of Winnipeg, Manitoba, was issued U.S. Patent No. 7,754,495, titled "Methods for Early Diagnosing of an Increased Risk of Preeclampsia," covering markers in its preeclampsia program.

NanoBio Corp., of Ann Arbor, Mich., was granted U.S. Patent No. 7,767,216, covering its nanoemulsion technology. The new claims encompass methods of treating herpes simplex I infections, including herpes labialis.

Novavax Inc., of Rockville, Md., received U.S. Patent No. 7,763,450, titled "Functional Influenza Virus-Like Particles," which covers the use of influenza gene sequences for high-yield production of consistent influenza VLP vaccines to protect against current and future seasonal and pandemic flu strains.

Progenra Inc., of Malvern, Pa., received a notice of allowance for a patent application, titled "Diagnostic and Screening Methods and Kits Associated with Proteolytic Activity." It covers technology designed to enable faster drug discovery by improving the ability to identify more selective drugs that modulate the handling of proteins associated with various disease states.

Quincy Bioscience LLC, of Madison, Wis., was issued U.S. Patent No. 7,671,015, covering the use of aequorin-containing compounds for the purpose o preventing and alleviating symptoms and disorders related to calcium imbalance.

Silence Therapeutics plc, of London, received U.S. Patent No. 7,750,144, titled "Methods and Compositions for Enhancing Efficiency and Specificity of RNA Silencing." It covers methods of producing double-stranded agents having decreased off-target silencing activity through certain structural modifications.

Stellar Pharmaceuticals Inc., of London, Ontario, received U.S. Patent No. 7,772,210, titled "Cystitis Treatment with High Dose Chondroitin Sulfate," which covers the treatment of interstitial cystitis/painful bladder syndrome by instillation of an optimized dose of chondroitin sulfate.