Antares Pharma Inc., of Exton, Pa., received a notice of allowance for a patent application on the formulation technology associated with its Easy Tec fast-melt tablet technology.

Boston Life Sciences Inc., of Boston, said Children's Medical Center Corp. in Boston was granted U.S. Patent No. 6,551,612 B2, covering the treatment of spinal cord injuries with Inosine. Boston Life Sciences is the exclusive licensee of the naturally occurring small molecule, which is found to control axonal growth in nerve cells.

Coley Pharmaceutical Group, of Wellesley, Mass., was awarded U.S. Patent No. 6,653,292 titled "Methods Of Treating Cancer Using Immunostimulatory Oligonucleotides," broadly protecting the use of immune stimulatory CpG oligonucleotides to treat or prevent cancer, or to enhance multimodal cancer treatment regimens.

Genaera Corp., of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., received U.S. Patent No. 6,645,492 titled "Methods for Treating Asthma with Interleukin-9 Receptor Antibodies," covering claims related to treating asthmatic symptoms by administering an antibody specific for interleukin-9 receptor.

Idun Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Diego, was issued a series of patents from a family titled "Inhibition of apoptosis using interleukin-1 beta converting enzyme (ICE)/CED-3 family inhibitors." They cover the use of technologies that target the inhibition of members of the (ICE)/CED-3 family, including caspases, a family of proteases known to be central to apoptosis and inflammation.

Medicure Inc., of Winnipeg, Manitoba, was granted U.S. Patent No. 6,605,612 titled "Cardioprotective Phosphonates and Malonates," covering composition-of-matter claims and compound claims in a series of new therapeutics for treating cardiovascular and related diseases.

NexMed Inc., of Robbinsville, N.J., received a notice of allowance for its patent application titled "Prostaglandin Compositions and Methods of Treatment for Male Erectile Dysfunction," which will protect Alprox-TD packaged in a dispenser suitable for use in treating erectile dysfunction.

Oncolytics Biotech Inc., of Calgary, Alberta, was granted U.S. Patent 6,649,157 titled "Viruses for the Treatment of Cellular Proliferative Disorders," covering the treatment of Ras-mediated tumors using modified herpes viruses.

Pro-Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Newton, Mass., received U.S. Patent No. 6,645,946 titled "Delivery of a Therapeutic Agent in a Formulation for Reduced Toxicity," and U.S. Patent No. 6,642,205 titled "Methods and Compositions for Reducing Side Effects in Chemotherapeutic Treatments."

Targeted Genetics Corp., of Seattle, was awarded U.S. Patent No. 6,639,051 titled "Amplifiable Adeno-Associated Virus (AAV) Packaging Cassettes for the Production of Recombinant AAV Vectors," expanding its production systems used to manufacture AAV vectors.

United Therapeutics Corp., of Silver Spring, Md., was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,646,006 titled "Enhancement of Vascular Function by Modulation of Endogenous Nitric Oxide Production or Activity." It relates to the company's platform of arginine dietary supplement products.

Zyomyx Inc., of Hayward, Calif., was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,630,358, covering certain methods of making and using protein arrays that resist non-specific protein binding.