Adherex Technologies Inc., of Research Triangle Park, N.C., was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,780,845 titled "Compounds and Methods for Cancer Therapy," covering the use of the company's cancer therapeutic agents to reduce tumor size.

Agilix Corp., of New Haven, Conn., received U.S. Patent No. 6,773,886, covering the technology embodied in its GenCompass Universal Microarray System.

Androclus Therapeutics Inc., of San Diego, was granted U.S. Patent No. 6,787,154 titled "Artificial Antigen Presenting Cells."

Centrex Inc., of Tulsa, Okla., said a patent covering the single-molecule nucleic acid-detection technology for its biopathogen-detection system was awarded to the Los Alamos National Laboratory and the University of California. Centrex has an exclusive worldwide license to develop a system for detecting microbial contamination using the technology.

Elixir Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said U.S. Patent No. 6,787,300 titled "Identifying Lifespan-altering Agents" was awarded to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Elixir has the exclusive worldwide license to the patent, which describes methods for identifying agents that extend lifespan and protect against stress in eukaryotic cells.