The ball is starting to get rolling with Google’s anti-aging company Calico. As reported recently, it now has a website, and today, the site added its first piece of news.

Calico has partnered with AbbVie to co-invest in an R&D collaboration. The announcement says they “may” co-invest $1.5 billion. Calico will also be creating a R&D facility in the Bay Area to focus on aging and age-related diseases, including neurodegeneration and cancer.

The two companies will combine their “complementary strengths to accelerate the availability of new therapies for age-related diseases,” as they put it.

“This collaboration demonstrates our commitment to exploring new areas of medicine and innovative approaches to drug discovery and development that augments our already robust pipeline,” said Richard A. Gonzalez, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, AbbVie. “We are pleased to be working with such outstanding scientists as Art Levinson, Hal Barron and their team. The potential to help improve patients’ lives with new therapies is enormous.”

“Our relationship with AbbVie is a pivotal event for Calico, whose mission is to develop life-enhancing therapies for people with age-related diseases. It will greatly accelerate our efforts to understand the science of aging, advance our clinical work, and help bring important therapies to patients everywhere,” said Art Levinson, CEO and founder of Calico.

Both companies will initially provide up to $250 million to fund the collaboration with the potential for both to contribute an additional $500 million. Both will share costs and profits equally.

Calico will start filling “critical” positions immediately, with plans to establish a “substantial” team of scientists and research staff.

Image via Calico