Adnexus Therapeutics Inc., of Waltham, Mass., received U.S. Patent No. 7,115,396, covering composition of matter claims to Adnectins, a class of targeted biologics with applications in therapeutics and diagnostics.

BioMS Medical Corp., of Edmonton, Alberta, said the University of Alberta received a patent, titled "Methods of predicting therapeutic efficacy of treatment of a multiple sclerosis patient." BioMS licenses exclusive, worldwide rights to that patent.

Bioniche Life Sciences Inc., of Belleville, Ontario, was granted two patents for its Mycobacterial Cell Wall-DNA Complex and related oligonucleotides. U.S. Patent No. 7,125,858 is titled "Hyaluronic acid in the treatment of cancer;" and U.S. Patent No. 7,087,586 is titled "Oligonucleotide compositions and their use to induce differentiation of cells."

Cephalon Inc., of Frazer, Pa., received U.S. Patent No. 7,132,570, which covers a polymorphic form of armodafinil, the active pharmaceutical ingredient in Nuvigil tablets. Nuvigil is pending approval with the FDA.

CollaGenex Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Newton, Pa., received a notice of allowance for its patent application covering the use of sub-antimicrobial tetracyclines for acne and acne rosacea. That includes the company's Oracea, which was approved in May 2006.

Nanogen Inc., of San Diego, received four patents: U.S. Patent No. 7,125,678, titled "Protein biopolymer markers predictive of Type II diabetes"; U.S. Patent No. 7,097,989, titled "Complement C3 precursor biomarker predictive of Type II diabetes"; U.S. Patent No. 7,094,549, titled "Fibronectin biopolymer marker indicative of insulin resistance"; and U.S. Patent No. 7,101,680, titled "Method for detecting the presence of monomeric brain associated human glutamine synthetase."

Orexigen Therapeutics Inc., of San Diego, said Duke University received U.S. Patent No. 7,109,198, which is exclusively licensed to Orexigen. The patent covers the composition of the company's compound, Excalia, which is in Phase IIb testing in obesity.

Orion Genomics, of St. Louis, received a notice of allowance for a patent covering its MethylScope technology, an approach to discovering and quantifying the DNA methylation status on each gene in the human genome.

Rexahn Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Rockville, Md., was granted a patent for its antisense compounds, including RX-0201, an antisense signal inhibitor aimed at blocking the production of Akt.

Targeted Genetics Corp., of Seattle, received U.S. Patent No. 7,125,717, titled "Metabolically Activated Recombinant Viral Vectors and Methods for Their Preparation and Use." It describes the use of adeno-associated virus (AAV) vectors that are efficient for expression of therapeutic genetic constructs.