A360
Key Takeaways✦ Atlas AI
01
A new drug, daraxonrasib, cut the death risk from late-stage pancreatic cancer by 60% in a clinical trial, offering a major potential breakthrough.
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Patients on the drug showed a median survival of 13.2 months, nearly double the 6.7 months for those on standard chemotherapy.
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Revolution Medicines plans to seek FDA approval for the drug, which targets historically hard-to-treat RAS gene mutations common in pancreatic cancer.
Atlas AI
Revolution Medicines reported new clinical trial results showing its experimental oral pancreatic cancer treatment, daraxonrasib, improved survival outcomes for patients with late-stage disease. The company said the drug reduced the risk of death by 60% compared with standard chemotherapy in the study population. The update triggered a sharp market response, with Revolution Medicines shares closing up 41.4% after the data was released.
The company said patients who received daraxonrasib had a median survival of 13.2 months. In the comparison group treated with traditional chemotherapy, median survival was 6.7 months. The figures point to a sizable gap in outcomes in a cancer that is widely viewed as difficult to treat, particularly once it has reached an advanced stage.
Daraxonrasib is designed to block mutations in a family of genes known as RAS, which the company described as a major driver of many cancers and especially pancreatic cancer. ” The drug is taken as a daily pill, positioning it as a less invasive alternative to intravenous chemotherapy regimens.
The trial enrolled approximately 500 patients, the company said. Among them was former Nebraska Senator Ben Sasse, who was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2023 and was given a prognosis of only a few months, according to the information provided. He joined the trial and, since starting treatment in late December, has seen a 76% reduction in tumor size, the company said, highlighting how individual responses can be substantial within a broader dataset.
The results arrive against a backdrop of persistently poor outcomes in pancreatic cancer. In the United States, more than 67,000 people are diagnosed each year, and the overall five-year survival rate is 13%, according to the figures cited. Those statistics help explain why new therapies that extend survival or reduce reliance on intensive chemotherapy can draw close attention from clinicians, patients, and investors.
Revolution Medicines said it plans to seek regulatory clearance for daraxonrasib and is preparing to submit an application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The company did not provide a timeline in the information released. While the trial data described strong survival and tumor-response signals, the next steps will depend on the FDA review process and the evidence package the company submits.
