Genaera Corp., of Plymouth Meeting, Pa., received U.S. Patent No. 6,596,712 covering the use of squalamine in combination with radiation therapy to treat tumors. Included in the patent are claims to uses of squalamine in combination with radiation for the treatment of multiple diseases, including prostate, lung and ovarian cancer, among others.

Genome Therapeutics Corp., of Waltham, Mass., was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,583,275 relating to genetic sequences that can aid in the identification and treatment of bacterial infections caused by the pathogen Enterococcus faecium - which the company labeled the most common species of enterococcus that develops resistance to antibiotics such as vancomycin.

Nastech Pharmaceutical Co. Inc., of Bothell, Wash., received a notice of allowance for a patent application relating to the nasal delivery of apomorphine. The allowed application, which contains 12 claims, is directed to compositions of apomorphine or a chemically modified equivalent that can be used to treat erectile and female sexual dysfunction.

Pozen Inc., of Chapel Hill, N.C., was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,586,458 with claims providing protection for its MT 400 technology, a combination of long-acting, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and triptans that may improve the effectiveness of acute treatment and provide sustained pain relief for migraine patients.

SuperGen Inc., of Dublin, Calif., received notices of allowance for patent claims relating to its investigational drug compound, Orathecin (rubitecan), directed to combination therapies with chemotherapeutic anthracycline agents and structural modifications that could lead to next-generation rubitecan compounds. SuperGen also received a notice of allowance for claims relating to its anticancer compound Dacogen (decitabine), as part of a combination therapy with other anticancer agents, to treat ovarian, breast, prostate, gastric, lung, pancreatic and colon cancers through the correction of DNA hypermethylation.

Targeted Genetics Corp., of Seattle, was granted U.S. Patent No. 6,593,124, titled "Hybrid genes for use in the production of TH-independent cytotoxic T cells." The patent, licensed to its majority owned subsidiary CellExSys Inc., relates to its targeted cytotoxic T-lymphocyte platform technology.

Vivus Inc., of Mountain View, Calif., said it received two U.S. patents covering the use of various therapeutic agents and their combinations, as well as their applications, for treating female sexual dysfunction.