In Fight Against Pancreatic Cancer, Daraxonrasib Is Rare Sign Of Hope

InnovationHealthcareIn Fight Against Pancreatic Cancer, Daraxonrasib Is Rare Sign Of HopeByJoshua P. Cohen,Senior Contributor.Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Joshua Cohen is a Boston-based writer who covers health policy.Follow AuthorJun 08, 2026, 08:59am EDT--:-- / --:--This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more.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.gettyData 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...