* FibroGen Inc., of South San Francisco, was issued No. 5,783,187 for the treatment of cell-proliferative disorders using antibodies that bind connective tissue growth factor (CTGF). CTGF is produced by connective tissue cells exposed to TGF-beta, a multifunctional growth factor.

* Gene Logic Inc., of Gaithersburg, Md., received No. 5,814,445, relating to "differential display," a widely used genomics technology that plays a critical role in drug discovery by revealing differences in gene activity or expression among various tissue samples.

* GeneMedicine Inc., of The Woodlands, Texas, received No. 5,811,406, "Dry Powder Formulations of Polynucleotide Complexes," which claims both the methods of manufacturing and the use of freeze-dried powder formulations of any therapeutic gene using a cryopreservative. The patent was issued jointly to GeneMedicine and the University of California; GeneMedicine has the exclusive license.

* Geron Corp., of Menlo Park, Calif., received No. 2,317,891, which is co-owned by the University Technology Corp. at the University of Colorado in Boulder. The patent's 51 claims cover a key catalytic protein component of human telomerase as well as various diagnostic, therapeutic and research uses of the protein, its associated nucleic acids and cells whose proliferative capacity have been extended through increased expression of the catalytic protein component.

* Immunomedics Inc., of Morris Plains, N.J., received a Japanese patent, No. 2,810,230, that covers a new product and technology for diagnosing sites of infection as well as treating these sites by combining an isotope or antimicrobial drug to the new targeting agents.

* Incyte Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Palo Alto, Calif., received No. 5,807,522, "Method for Fabricating Microarrays of Biological Samples." Incyte has the exclusive license to the patent, which was issued to Stanford University, of Palo Alto, Calif. The patent describes technology used to print microarrays at densities greater than 100 polynucleotides per centimeter squared.

* Myriad Genetics Inc., of Salt Lake City, received No. 5,807,679, "Island Hopping — A Method to Sequence Rapidly Very Large Fragments of DNA." The patent covers "island hopping," a method of dramatically increasing the rate of sequencing large fragments of DNA, which is useful in discovering disease-related genes and sequencing complete genomes of various species. It also received No. 5,801,236, for the potent tumor suppressor gene known as p16 or MTS1. The patent covers the composition of matter of the 5' end of the p16 gene, DNA primers for the gene, probes, cloning vectors and recombinant hosts and their use in the development of therapeutic and diagnostic approaches to cancer.

* Neoprobe Corp., of Dublin, Ohio, received No. 5,814,295, covering the entire RIGS/ACT process, from finding lymph nodes enriched with tumor-reactive cells in a cancer patient to infusing the expanded, activated cells into the same patient in an attempt to jumpstart the immune system. The RIGS system is used to identify otherwise indistinguishable lymph nodes that contain an unusual number of tumor-activated cells.

* Osiris Therapeutics Inc., of Baltimore, received No. 5,811,094, claiming the use of all compositions of human mesenchymal stem cells to both regenerate any form of connective tissue and repair connective tissue defects.

* Pangaea Pharmaceuticals Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., received a notice of allowance for its claims relating to immune activation. Pangaea's Biotope DNA-based therapeutics can elicit a T cell-mediated immune response against specific diseases.