4SC AG, of Martinsried, Germany, was granted U.S. Patent No. 6,727,100, which describes a method to speed up the identification of biologically active, small-molecule compounds.

Advanced Biotherapy Inc., of Woodland Hills, Calif., said it received a notice of allowance for its patent application titled "Methods of prevention and treatment of asthma and allergic conditions."

Cellegy Pharmaceuticals Inc., of South San Francisco, was awarded U.S. Patent No. 6,747,063 titled "Combination Therapy for Treatment of Erectile Dysfunction," delineating methods of decreasing the pain associated with the use of topical and injectable prostaglandins for erectile dysfunction by administering a prostaglandin and a low dose of a nitric oxide-releasing agent.

Collegium Pharmaceutical Inc., of Cumberland, R.I., received a notice of allowance for its patent titled "Compositions Containing Both Sedative and Non-Sedative Antihistamines."

Enzo Biochem Inc., of Farmingdale, N.Y., said its Enzo Life Sciences Inc. subsidiary was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,743,605 titled "Linear Amplification of Specific Nucleic Acid Sequences," surrounding methods of nucleic acid amplification.

Epoch Biosciences Inc., of Bothell, Wash., received U.S. Patent No. 6,727,356 titled "Fluorescent Quenching Detection Reagents and Methods."

Genetronics Biomedical Corp., of San Diego, was granted U.S. Patent No. 6,748,265 titled "Electrode apparatus and method for the delivery of drugs and genes into tissue" and U.S. Patent No. 6,746,441 titled "Flow-through electroporation system for ex vivo gene therapy."

GPC Biotech AG, of Martinsried, Germany, was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,753,329, with claims for the composition of matter of a family of cell-cycle inhibitors that includes RGB-286199.

Interleukin Genetics Inc., of Waltham, Mass., was awarded U.S. Patent No. 6,746,839 B1 for methods and kits that use specific genetic markers to assist in the diagnosis and management of an obstructive airway disease, such as asthma.

Introgen Therapeutics Inc., of Austin, Texas, said the Board of Regents of the University of Texas System was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,740,320. The company exclusively licenses the patent, which broadly covers adenoviral vectors with the tumor suppressor p53 in pharmaceutical compositions.

Labcyte Inc., of Sunnyvale, Calif., was awarded U.S. Patent No. 6,707,038 titled "Method and System Using Acoustic Ejection for Selective Fluid Deposition on a Nonuniform Sample Surface," describing technology the company said it believes will be important in tissue imaging by MALDI mass spectrometry. Labcyte also received two related patents - No. 6,710,335 titled "Acoustic Sample Introduction for Analysis and/or Processing" and No. 6,746,104 titled "High Density Molecular Arrays on Porous Surfaces."

MorphoSys AG, of Martinsried, Germany, received U.S. Patent No. 6,753,136 titled "Novel methods for displaying (poly)peptides/proteins on bacteriophage particles via disulfide bonds." It describes a selection technology based on phage display for selecting high-affinity antibodies.

Morphotek Inc., of Exton, Pa., was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,737,268 covering the generation of genetically enhanced therapeutic antigens.

Mycogen Corp., of Indianapolis, was granted U.S. Patent No. 6,753,463 for glyphosate resistance in cotton. The company is an affiliate of Dow AgroSciences LLC.

Quark Biotech Inc., of Fremont, Calif., was granted U.S. Patent No. 6,740,738 covering antibodies directed against the RTP801 protein, which has been shown to play a role in the cellular mechanisms responding to hypoxia.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc., of South San Francisco, was awarded U.S. Patent Nos. 6,737,244 and 6,740,495, relating to its program in ubiquitin ligases and covering methods for identifying and/or measuring E3 ubiquitin ligase activity and screening for agents that modulate their activity, including small-molecule or biological modulators.

Rockeby Biomed Ltd., of Sydney, Australia, said it was issued a notice of allowance for its patent covering its Candia5 diagnostic test.