Wave Life Sciences Ltd (NASDAQ:WVE) has revealed its intentions of getting into a $911 million-plus discovery pact with Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE). In its efforts to advance up to 5 drugs for Pfizer, Wave will start with two declared targets including its apolipoprotein C-III program. The rest of the drugs will be identified within 18 months.

Pfizer will make a $40 million upfront payment to Wave of which $30 million will entail an equity investment in Wave Life Sciences at a cost of $16 per share. If the development and commercialization of the five drugs is successful, Wave could make up to $871 million in milestones and royalties from Pfizer.

Wave is anticipating launching six clinical programs by 2018 to top-up its already existing pipeline that consists of more than 20 discovery programs in therapeutic areas, the likes of gastrointestinal, muscle, eye, skin and the general central nervous system.

Pfizer’s trigger to collaborate with Wave was cultivated from the fact that it can use new technology to create easy and effective nucleic acid therapies. According to Wave’s CEO Paul Bolno, such collaborations will push the company’s cash runway into 2019, enabling it to fund the operational expenses and capital expenditure requirements.

Bolno opined that the collaboration is within Wave’s policy of building and advancing its portfolio of medicines for neurological and neuromuscular diseases. The main aim is to produce a single drug with high potency. The CEO believes that the company’s drug has the ability to distinguish itself from the rest of the drugs available. Working together for the two companies will definitely lead to the development of unique and proprietary technologies.

In the last one year, WaVe has been able to raise a total of about $196 million in capital with an initial public offering of $112 million. Thereafter came a $66 million Series B financing that was completed in August 2015. A Series A financing of $18 million having being completed in January 2015.