Corgentech Inc., of South San Francisco, was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,774,118, which covers a method for preventing formation of neointimal thickening leading to restenosis and vessel occlusion with any double-stranded oligonucleotide decoy that binds to the transcription factor E2F, regardless of the sequence of such decoy.

Curis Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,767,888 titled "Neuroprotective methods and reagents," which claims methods for treatment with Hedgehog pathway-stimulating polypeptides to limit the damage caused to the brain by a stroke or other ischemic condition.

Cyntellect Inc., of San Diego, was awarded U.S. Patent No. 6,753,161 covering its LaserFect technology, which is used for the low-toxicity delivery of proteins, drugs, siRNA and ions into cells for basic research, drug discovery and clinical purposes.

DermTech International Inc., of San Diego, received a patent allowance for an application titled "Methods for Obtaining and Analyzing Skin Samples for the Detection of Nucleic Acids." It covers a method comprising the use of adhesive tape to recover ribonucleic acid from the surface of the skin.

GMP Companies Inc., of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said two patents were issued on technologies exclusively licensed to the company. The first, issued to The Burnham Institute in La Jolla, Calif., relates to cancer biomarkers under development for the early detection and prognosis of breast cancer. The second, issued to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Children's Hospital Boston, is for tissue-engineering technology.

Lexicon Genetics Inc., of The Woodlands, Texas, was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,776,988 titled "Vectors for gene mutagenesis and gene discovery," the seventh related to its gene-trapping technology.

MacroPore Biosurgery Inc., of San Diego, said the University of California received U.S. Patent No. 6,777,231, which is related to adipose-derived stem cells. MacroPore holds an exclusive worldwide license to the patent.

Mobious Genomics Ltd., of Exeter, UK, received a notice of allowance for broad technology-defining patents covering real-time polynucleotide sequencing.

Nabi Biopharmaceuticals, of Boca Raton, Fla., was granted U.S. Patent No. 6,756,361 titled "Enterococcus Antigens and Vaccines," which covers the composition of multiple Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium capsular polysaccharide antigens that have been shown to induce serotype-specific protective immunity against multidrug-resistant enterococcal species.

Norak Biosciences Inc., of Research Triangle Park, N.C., was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,770,449, which claims compositions of any arrestin that is labeled by any method in a cell containing a GPCR capable of binding the arrestin. Labels specifically claimed include green fluorescent protein, beta-galactosidase and luciferase.

Starpharma Holdings Ltd., of Melbourne, Australia, was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,740,635 titled "Antiviral linear polymers."

Targeted Genetics Corp., of Seattle, was granted U.S. Patent No. 6,759,237 titled "Adeno-Associated Virus Serotype 1 Nucleic Acid Sequences, Vectors and Host Cells Containing Same," broadening its AAV (adeno-associated viral) vector technology.

The Quigley Corp., of Doylestown, Pa., received U.S. Patent No. 6,753,325 B2 titled "Topical Compositions and Methods for Treatment of Adverse Effects of Ionizing Radiation," which relates to its topical treatment for radiation dermatitis called QR-335.