Kosan Biosciences Inc., of Hayward, Calif., said it received U.S. Patent No. 6,262,340 covering methods for producing polyketides in plants to protect the plants against disease and infestation.

Metabolex Inc., of Hayward, Calif., said it was granted U.S. Patent No. 6,262,118 covering the use of the company¿s lead investigational drug, MBX-102, and related derivatives for the treatment of Type II diabetes and hyperlipidemia.

Peregrine Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Tustin, Calif., said it received U.S. Patent No. 6,274,343 titled ¿Vasopermeability Enhancing Immunoconjugates.¿ The patent expands on claims issued by a previous patent covering the same technology.

Pyrosequencing AB, of Uppsala, Sweden, said it received U.S. Patent Nos. 6,210,891 and 6,258,658. The patents cover methods for DNA sequencing based on real-time detection of pyrophosphate and improvements in the chemistry of the company¿s genetic analysis technology.

Transkaryotic Therapies Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., said it received U.S. Patent No. 6,255,096 titled ¿Synthetic Mammalian Alpha-N-Acetylglucosaminidase and Genetic Sequences Encoding Same.¿ It covers claims related to a DNA sequence encoding alpha-N-acetylglucosaminidase and cells transfected with that DNA.

U.S. Genomics Inc., of Woburn, Mass., said it was granted U.S. Patent No. 6,263,286 covering specific methodologies, software and hardware that use fluorophores and fluorescence resonance as part of a technology platform to analyze and rapidly sequence complex molecules.

Zycos Inc., of Lexington, Mass., said it was granted U.S. Patent No. 6,242,203 titled ¿Tumor-Specific P450 Protein.¿ It covers methods for determining the presence of cancer cells in tissue samples of human cells using polyclonal or monoclonal CYP1B1 antibodies.