Inovio Biomedical Corp., of San Diego, said its wholly owned subsidiary, Genetronics Inc., was issued U.S. Patent No. 7,171,264, titled "Intradermal Delivery of Active Agents by Needle-Free Injection and Electroporation." It claims a method of delivering biological material, including DNA vaccines, to the skin.

Lpath Inc., of San Diego, received U.S. Patent No. 7,169,390, titled "Compositions and Methods for the Treatment and Prevention of Cancer, Angiogenesis, and Inflammation." It relates to the methods of treating cancer using Sphingomab, the company's cancer drug candidate.

Nventa Biopharmaceuticals Corp., of San Diego, received U.S. Patent No. 7,157,089, which covers compositions of fusion proteins comprised of an influenza antigen fused to a heat-shock protein, as well as DNA encoding such fusion proteins and their use in immunotherapy.

Odyssey Thera Inc., of San Ramon, Calif., was granted U.S. Patent No. 7,160,691, which covers Protein-fragment Complementation Assays (PCAs) based on fragments of luminescent proteins. The company also received U.S. Patent No. 7,166,424, which covers PCAs based on fragments of fluorescent proteins, including assays with diverse and improved spectral characteristics.

Oncolytics Biotech Inc., of Calgary, Alberta, was granted U.S. Patent No. 7,163,678, titled "Reovirus for the Treatment of Ral-Mediated Cellular Proliferative Disorders." It describes using recombinant reoviruses for Ral-mediated neoplasms and noncancer cellular proliferative diseases such as neurofibromatosis.

PolyMedix Inc., of Philadelphia, received U.S. Patent No. 7,173,102, titled "Facially Amphiphilic Polymers and Anti-Infective Agents," which claims compositions of matter for facially amphiphilic polymers and oilgomers.

Unigen Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Lacey, Wash., received a patent for Free-B-Ring Flayonoids derived from Chinese Skullcap in supporting its Univestin joint health ingredient.