Merck has signed a licensing agreement for a heart disease drug with Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals worth up to $2 billion, the latest in a series of deals U.S. drugmakers have recently signed with China-based firms.

Merck & Co. will pay as much as $2 billion for the rights to Jiangsu Hengrui Pharmaceuticals Co.’s experimental heart drug, the US drugmaker’s second recent foray into China for a novel medicine.Under the agreement,

Under terms of the deal, Merck will gain global rights to develop, manufacture, and commercialize HRS-5346 for cardiovascular disease, excluding Greater China.