In late August, the Food and Drug Administration approved a new therapeutic for pancreatic cancer, daraxonrasib, developed by Revolution Medicines. This drug is for previously treated patients and represents a revolutionary new therapeutic to target KRAS inside pancreatic cancers, the most commonly mutated oncogene found in the disease. Having this mutation is a very bad sign for a pancreatic cancer patient, often indicating that their case is terminal.
Medicine has known about KRAS for decades, but because of its physical shape, it’s been nearly impossible to treat. Until daraxonrasib proved for the first time that KRAS could be treated, bound, and stopped.
While pancreatic cancer remains a devastating diagnosis, this therapy nearly doubled the survival rate in a clinical trial — an incredible result for those patients and their families. Time is priceless.
