On Tuesday, U.S.-based biotechnology company Nabla Bio revealed that it had inked a second significant research partnership with Japan’s Takeda Pharmaceutical. The goal is to expedite drug discovery by leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) more extensively. This new agreement builds on their initial collaboration, which began in 2022, and is set to unfold as a multi-year partnership.

Under the terms of the deal, Nabla Bio will receive tens of millions of dollars upfront to cover research and development costs. Additionally, the company stands to earn milestone payments that could surpass $1 billion, depending on the progress and success of their joint R&D efforts.