• Edison Pharmaceuticals Inc., of San Jose, Calif., the University of Bologna in Bologna, Italy, and Columbia University Medical Center in New York are collaborating in the field of inherited mitochondrial diseases. They will focus on combining preclinical biology skills and clinical expertise at Columbia and Bologna with the translational and drug development work at Edison to bring forward therapeutic candidates aimed at mitochondrial diseases affecting the eye and brain.

• Entelos Inc., of Foster City, Calif., expanded its research collaboration with Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research & Development LLC, a unit of New Brunswick, N.J.-based Johnson & Johnson, to include multiple therapeutic areas over a five-year term. In the first year, Entelos will support specific projects using its PhysioLab platforms. J&J already is using Entelos’ models to validate targets, select biomarkers and optimize clinical trials for Type II diabetes, obesity and anemia.

• La Jolla Pharmaceutical Co., of San Diego, appointed Deirdre Gillespie CEO following the resignation March 14 of Steven Engle. Gillespie also joined the board. She most recently was the president and CEO of Oxxon Therapeutics Inc., of Boston. La Jolla also appointed Craig Smith chairman. He has been a director of the company since 2004.

• Martek Biosciences Corp., of Columbia, Md., was selected by F. Hoffmann-La Roche Ltd., of Basel, Switzerland, as a production partner for shikimic acid, the starting material used to produce Tamiflu. Martek’s scientists and engineers have been able to work with Roche to implement a commercial-scale production process using its equipment, helping Roche to reduce its dependence on the Chinese star anise fruit as a source of shikimic acid.

• MorphoSys AG, of Munich, Germany, entered a license agreement and therapeutic antibody collaboration with Sankyo Co. Ltd., a subsidiary of Tokyo-based Daiichi Sankyo Co. Ltd. The agreement is for an initial two-year term with the option of an extension of up to three more years. Daiichi Sankyo will start one therapeutic antibody program with MorphoSys, and it has an option for further programs. It will have access to the MorphoSys HuCAL GOLD library at its research site in Tokyo.

• Novavax Inc., of Malvern, Pa., said the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases approved an additional commitment of about $1 million to fund the third year of a four-and-a-half-year research program. Novavax is developing an HIV/AIDS virus-like particle (VLP) vaccine as part of an NIH Integrated Preclinical/Clinical AIDS Vaccine Development Program. During the first two years, Novavax developed a process to manufacture HIV-1 VLPs from consensus sequences of the HIV-1 envelope glycoprotein.

• Serologicals Corp., of Atlanta, said its wholly owned subsidiary Celliance Corp. executed an expanded four-year supply agreement with Novo Nordisk A/S, of Bagsvaerd, Denmark. Under the terms, Celliance will have the worldwide, exclusive right to distribute Novo’s recombinant human insulin in the cell culture market under Celliance’s Incelligent brand. Financial terms were not disclosed.