Accelr8 Technology Corp., of Denver, was awarded U.S. Patent No. 6,844,028 for its OptiChem surface chemistry, a coating to selectively capture, target and analyze individual bacteria in bacterial pathogen analysis.

Akesis Pharmaceuticals Inc., of La Jolla, Calif., received U.S. Patent No. 6,852,760, covering compositions and methods of treatment for diabetes and other glucose metabolism disorders. The patent combines Akesis' formula of anti-diabetic trace minerals with the sulfonylurea class of medications.

BioDiscovery Inc., of El Segundo, Calif., was granted U.S. Patent No. 6,839,454, its sixth patent for the Microarray Image Analysis system. It covers the system and method in automatically identifying sub-grids in a microarray.

BioProgress plc, of Cambridgeshire, UK, was issued a patent for its capsule configuration, in which the walls of the capsule are comprised of several layers of laminated film, each of which can be designed to dissolve at a different rate or time.

Bolder BioTechnology Inc., of Wheat Ridge, Colo., was granted U.S. Patent No. 6,753,165, claiming methods developed for manufacturing proteins containing unpaired cysteine residues, as well as proteins and modified proteins produced using those methods.

Bone Care International Inc., of Middleton, Wis., received a notice of allowance for its patent relating to stabilized hydroxyvitamin D2 products, which covers the company's vitamin D hormone therapy, Hectorol, to treat secondary hyperparathyroidism in patients with moderate to severe chronic kidney disease and end-stage renal disease.

Cell Therapeutics Inc., of Seattle, said the European Patent Office issued an allowance for its Xyotax patent, which will have the same term as an existing U.S. patent. Cell Therapeutics is investigating Xyotax in three Phase III trials in non-small-cell lung cancer.

Cepheid Inc., of Sunnyvale, Calif., was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,818,185, titled "Cartridge for Conducting a Chemical Reaction," related to its GeneXpert cartridge. The patent covers a sample-preparation cartridge having a reaction vessel extending from the cartridge body for receiving the prepared sample for chemical reaction and/or option detection.