Pancreatic cancer has been notoriously difficult to treat effectively, leading to it being one of the deadliest cancers. A drug in Phase 3 called daraxonrasib has shown promising data that suggest a doubling of extension of life compared to standard chemotherapy.
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Data presented at last week’s annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology suggest that daraxonrasib is a possible major breakthrough in the treatment of pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, one of the deadliest cancers. Compared to those on standard chemotherapy, daraxonrasib doubled the duration of survival of trial participants.
Drug developers have been working on treatments for pancreatic cancer for decades. Scientists in the 1980s located KRAS gene mutations that often drive the disease. Subsequently, research efforts focused on turning off the metaphorical switches. KRAS is a member of the RAS family of mutations responsible for producing proteins that control cellular growth. Pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, in particular, is one of the most RAS-driven cancers in medicine. More than 90% of such cancers have RAS pathway alterations.
These cancers have hitherto been considered “undruggable” by clinicians and researchers. This meant that while the molecular biomarkers were properly identified, few if any treatments have successfully targeted them.
Daraxonrasib is designed to inhibit RAS signaling, targeting multiple mutations. Researchers at the ASCO conference presented results from a Phase 3 trial in 500 patients with previously treated pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma that had spread throughout the body. Patients participating in the trial received either once-daily oral daraxonrasib or standard chemotherapy.
Median overall survival was 13.2 months with daraxonrasib compared to 6.7 months on chemotherapy. The death rate in the group treated with daraxonrasib was 60% lower than those on standard chemotherapy. This is being hailed as an important advance in the fight against metastatic pancreatic cancer.
Approximately 96% of patients in the trial experienced treatment-related adverse events, the most common being a rash and dry skin and gastrointestinal issues such as diarrhea and nausea.
Stage 4 pancreatic cancer sufferer and former Sen. Ben Sasse, 54, has called daraoxonrasib a “miracle drug” that has allowed him to live longer and with less pain.
More than 67,000 people living in the United States are estimated to be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer annually, according to the American Cancer Society. And in 2025, close to 52,000 Americans died from pancreatic cancer. Pancreatic cancer has one of the highest mortality rates of all known cancers, with only 3% of individuals surviving five years after diagnosis if it has spread to distant parts of the body, according to the National Cancer Institute. Survival rates are low due to the fact that many patients receive a late-stage diagnosis and the aggressive nature of the disease.
Patients with previously treated metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma who have no other options are eligible to receive daraxonrasib. The company sponsor is providing daraxonrasib for free to such patients through an expanded access program established by the Food and Drug Administration, which allows critically ill people to receive experimental medicines outside of a clinical trial.
Surging demand for daraxonrasib may test the ability of Revolution Medicines, the drug’s manufacturer, to produce at scale. The company has said it believes its manufacturing and supply chain capabilities will be sufficient.
Daraxonrasib isn’t the only promising therapy in the pipeline. Less than two months ago, an mRNA vaccine showed positive data at delaying cancer recurrence in an early-stage clinical trial. Furthermore, the FDA approved a wearable, non-invasive medical device in February for locally advanced pancreatic cancer. It is a wearable, non-invasive medical device that delivers alternating electrical fields to physically disrupt rapidly dividing pancreatic cancer cells.
Numerous challenges lie ahead for pancreatic cancer patients. Daraxonrasib isn’t a cure. And resistance to therapy is highly likely in many patients. But the treatment is a remarkable step forward.
Progress in oncology drug development tends to come in increments, though some advances in the past 30 years, such as those seen in blood cancers — including multiple myeloma and various forms of leukemia and lymphoma — are huge breakthroughs. Though not offering the same level of benefit as therapeutics for blood cancers, daraxonrasib counts as a significant innovation given how intractable pancreatic cancer has been.