Medicure Inc., of Winnipeg, Manitoba, said it was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,051,587, titled "Treatment of Iatrogenic and Age-Related Hypertension and Pharmaceutical Compositions Useful Therein." The patent protects the use of the company's lead drugs for a form of high blood pressure that is difficult to treat.

Myriad Genetics Inc., of Salt Lake City, said it was awarded U.S. Patent No. 6,060,301, covering the p10 gene, which may provide the basis for the development of products to diagnose and treat many common cancers.

PathoGenesis Corp., of Seattle, said it was granted a European patent for TOBI (tobramycin solution for inhalation), its inhaled antibiotic for management of cystic fibrosis patients with Pseudomonas aeruginosa lung infections. TOBI has been patented in the U.S. and Australia, and patent applications are pending in Canada and Japan.

PharmaNetics Inc., of Raleigh, N.C., said it filed a patent application in the U.S. on technology developed for rapid platelet function tests for managing platelet inhibitor drugs.

Sangui BioTech International Inc., of Santa Ana, Calif., said its subsidiary, SanguiBioTech AG, of Witten, Germany, was issued U.S. Patent No. 5,994,509 on a method of producing molecularly uniform fractions of artificial hemoglobin hyperpolymers.

SciClone Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Mateo, Calif., said the U.S. Patent Office issued a notice of allowance for use of the company's lead drug, Zadaxin, for the treatment of hepatitis B.

Sertoli Technologies Inc., of Providence, R.I., said the U.S. Patent Office will issue a sixth patent protecting exclusive use of Sertoli cell lines by the company in developing transplant therapies for insulin-dependent diabetes and other disorders.

Transkaryotic Therapies Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., was issued U.S. Patent No. 6,063,630, titled "Targeted Introduction of DNA into Primary or Secondary Cells and Their Use for Gene Therapy." The patent covers cells modified by the insertion of DNA into a precise location within the cell's genome.