March 31 (Reuters) - Biotech firm Infinimmune said on Tuesday it has entered into a deal with Merck MRK.N, that could be worth up to about $838 million in milestone payments, to discover and develop multiple antibodies for various undisclosed disease targets.
Under the agreement, the privately held Infinimmune will receive an undisclosed upfront payment and could earn milestone payments tied to multiple drug candidates worth up to about $838 million.
Merck will have the exclusive right to develop and commercialize antibody candidates that come out of the collaboration.
Infinimmune said it will use its proprietary platform to screen large numbers of human immune cells and identify naturally occurring antibodies, then use AI tools to refine and improve them.
The companies did not disclose the disease targets Merck selected for the partnership.
Infinimmune focuses on discovering antibody medicines directly from the human immune system.
Outside the Merck deal, Infinimmune is also developing its own early-stage medicines for moderate-to-severe eczema and other immune-related diseases.
(Reporting by Kunal Das in Bengaluru)
((Kunal.Das2@thomsonreuters.com;))
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