¿ Bioject Medical Technologies Inc., of Portland, Ore., said its needle-free jet injection system is being tested in a Phase I trial to deliver a malaria DNA vaccine made by Vical Inc., of San Diego.

¿ Compugen, of Tel Aviv, Israel, opened its new research and development facility and partner support center in Jamesburg, N.J.

¿ Endocyte Inc., of West Lafayette, Ind., and the National Cancer Institute signed a letter of intent to collaborate on development of folate-targeted anticancer drugs.

¿ Innovax Corp., a joint venture between Endorex Corp., of Chicago, and Elan Corp. plc, of Dublin, Ireland, acquired an exclusive license to technology and patents for orally delivered human and veterinary vaccines from Vaxcel Inc., of Norcross, Ga. The technology is based on polymeric microspheres. Terms were not disclosed.

¿ Intercardia Inc., of Research Triangle Park, N.C., plans to start a Phase I trial of OP2000 later this year. The ultra-low molecular weight heparin is being developed for inflammatory bowel disease.

¿ Matrix Pharmaceutical Inc., of Fremont, Calif., said the FDA granted fast-track review status to Intradose (cisplatin/epinephrine) injectable gel, the company¿s lead cancer product.

¿ MGI Pharma Inc., of Minneapolis, said it is expanding its exploratory Phase II ovarian cancer study of MGI 114. The decision was made after one patient experienced a tumor mass reduction of more than 50 percent.

¿ Myriad Genetics Inc., of Salt Lake City, said it delivered four drug targets to Bayer Corp., of Pittsburgh, for studies leading to drug-candidate screening. The potential drug targets optioned by Bayer are based upon Myriad¿s identification of four genes not previously indicated in dementia pathways. Myriad and Bayer signed their potential $71 million, five-year deal in September 1995, to discover genes for asthma, osteoporosis and obesity.

¿ Octagen Corp., of Bala Cynwyd, Pa., received the first milestone payment from its October 1998 collaboration with France-based Beaufour Ipsen in the development of second-generation genetically engineered factor VIII for the treatment of hemophilia. The milestone amount was not disclosed.

¿ Ontogeny Inc., of Cambridge, Mass., entered into an agreement with Oxford Asymmetry International (OAI), of Abingdon, U.K., to optimize small-molecule leads derived from Ontogeny¿s development pathway-based assays. In addition to providing Ontogeny with medicinal chemistry services, OAI will give Ontogeny access to its combinatorial chemistry expertise. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

¿ Structural Bioinformatics Inc., of San Diego, said it was awarded a $100,000 Small Business Innovation Research grant by the National Institutes of Health to develop non-peptide small-molecule inhibitors targeting a bacterial metalloproteinase.

¿ Synsorb Biotech Inc., of Calgary, Alberta, completed a previously announced public offering of 7.1 common shares at $1.75 per share, raising $12.4 million. Another $3.3 million was raised under the participation option for existing shareholders, through the issuance of 1.9 million common shares, also at $1.75 per share.

¿ Trimeris Inc., of Durham, N.C., said T-1249 has received fast-track status from the FDA for the treatment of HIV-infected individuals. T-1249 is the company¿s second drug candidate in a new class of anti-HIV compounds that block the entry of virus into cells.