Novartis (NVS) to collaborate with Antares Therapeutics to discover, develop and commercialize small-molecule cancer therapies targeting historically difficult-to-drug oncology targets, Antares Therapeutics said Wednesday.

Antares said it will receive $105 million upfront and could earn up to $1.8 billion in option, development, regulatory and commercial milestone payments, plus tiered royalties on future sales.

Antares will lead early research on selected targets using its drug discovery platform, while Novartis will have rights to advance and commercialize resulting programs, it added.