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.