Gene-editing pioneer Editas Medicine said Tuesday it will collect a $90 million upfront payment from Irish drug giant Allergan PLC in a partnership that gives Allergan the option to license up to five experimental eye disease drugs from Editas, including one targeting a rare genetic disorder that can cause children to go blind.

Under the agreement — the latest in a string of genome-editing collaborations — Cambridge-based Editas gave Allergan’s subsidiary, Allergan Pharmaceuticals International Ltd., the option to license experimental drugs developed with the promising genetics technology Editas is using, including Crispr-CAS9.

“This is part of our overall business development strategy and how we’re building the company,’’ Editas chief executive Katrine Bosley said in an interview. “Allergan has very deep expertise in ophthalmology and brings biological, clinical, and commercial expertise.’’

Editas, one of several Cambridge companies working in the gene-editing field, got a boost last month when the US patent office ruled that Crispr-CAS9 discoveries at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard – work that Editas has licensed – were distinct from those at the University of California licensed by two local rivals, Crispr Therapeutics and Intellia Therapeutics Inc.

Shares of Editas closed up 4.5 percent to $26.04 Tuesday.

Under the arrangement, Editas will be eligible to receive additional development and commercial milestone payments, as well as sales royalties, if the drugs are successful. The companies didn’t disclose the potential value of those payouts.

The drugs include Editas’s lead program for Leber Congenital Amaurosis, a genetic retinal disorder that can result in vision loss and blindness in children. The treatment is in the pre-clinical development stage.

Two years ago, Editas struck an alliance with Juno Therapeutics Inc., based in Seattle, to work on engineering T cells to fight cancers. Bosley said she expects further collaborations.

Robert Weisman can be reached at robert.weisman@globe.com.