Acusphere Inc., of Watertown, Mass., was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,689,390 titled "Matrices Formed of Polymer and Hydrophobic Compounds for Use in Drug Delivery," which relates to the use of certain porous microparticle formulations using slowly dissolving shell materials to create sustained-release formulations of a variety of drugs, particularly hydrophobic drugs.

Adventrx Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, said its collaborators at the University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center were issued U.S. Patent No. 6,656,471 titled "HIV-specific T-cell induction," for a method to diagnose, prevent and treat AIDS. The patent, to which Adventrx has an exclusive worldwide license for its EradicAide technology, involves the use of HIV peptides and HLA-restricted T-cell responses in both the prediction of long-term non-progression of AIDS and prevention of AIDS.

Anosys Inc., of Menlo Park, Calif., was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,685,911, which it called the first patent in the U.S. related to exosomes as a fundamental approach to immunology.

Cyntellect Inc., of San Diego, said Oncosis LLC was granted U.S. Patent No. 6,642,018 titled "Method for inducing a response in one or more targeted cells," which covers Cyntellect's Laser Enabled Analysis and Processing (LEAP) technology platform. Cyntellect has an exclusive license to the patent.

Depomed Inc., of Menlo Park, Calif., was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,682,759 titled "Manufacture of Oral Dosage Forms Delivering Both Immediate-Release and Sustained-Release Drugs," covering methods for manufacturing a tablet that delivers two drugs with different characteristics in a single dose.