Roche and Warp Drive Bio, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-headquartered pharmaceutical company, have partnered to develop antibiotics for drug-resistant bacterial infections in a deal worth up to $300 million.

Under the collaboration, Warp Drive will use its proprietary Genome Mining platform, which accesses natural molecules that have been “hidden” within microbes, according to Warp Drive Bio.

Under the agreement, Roche has an option for an exclusive worldwide license to develop and commercialize certain antibiotic classes that emerge from the collaboration, triggered upon the selection of a drug-candidate from the particular class. Warp Drive will retain worldwide rights to all other antibiotic classes from the collaboration. Warp Drive will receive up to $87 million in an upfront payment, option fees, and milestone payments for preclinical events, and up to $300 million in payments related to specific clinical, regulatory, and sales milestones on products licensed to Roche. In addition, for products licensed to Roche, Warp Drive is eligible to receive tiered royalties for development candidates up to double digits on future net sales.

Source: Warp Drive Bio