Roche will pay up to $774 million for cancer drug

ThromboGenics and BioInvent will receive an upfront payment of $77.4 million. The companies are eligible for milestone payments totaling an additional $696.7 million for reaching certain development and sales milestones, as well as royalties.

The drug's discoverer, ThromboGenics, will receive 60 percent of the revenue from the deal, and BioInvent will receive 40 percent.

TB-403, an antibody, acts by cutting off the flow of blood to cancer cells, potentially minimizing both the growth and spread of tumors. The drug recently completed one early-stage trial and Roche will fund a pending second trial as well as all future trials.

Roche will also have the right to sell TB-403 around the world. BioInvent and ThromoGenics will retain co-marketing rights in Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and the Baltic and Nordic Regions.

Roche's current products include many cancer treatments. In addition, Genentech's blockbuster cancer drug Avastin, works in a similar fashion to TB-403. Roche is majority owner of Genentech.