Vivus Inc., of Mountain View, Calif., received U.S. Patent No. 6,818,226 titled "Dermal Penetration Enhancers and Drug Delivery Systems Involving Same," relating to the Metered Dose Transdermal Spray.

XenoPort Inc., of Santa Clara, Calif., received U.S. Patent No. 6,818,787 covering the composition of matter of its XP13512 compound and related analogues. XP13512 is a Transported Prodrug of gabapentin being tested in two Phase IIa studies.

WellSpring Pharmaceutical Corp., of Neptune, N.J., received U.S. Patent No. 6,818,763 B2 for exclusive rights to a synthetic method of preparation for stannsoporfin (Stanate), a new drug in development to treat jaundice in newborns.

Zolaris BioSciences LLC, of Bozeman, Mont., received U.S. Patent No. 6,818,611 titled "Stabilized Bioactive Peptides and Methods of Identification, Synthesis and Use." The company said it is improving the half-lives of peptides using its peptide fusion technology.