What they had just heard was genuinely historic.
A new drug called daraxonrasib, developed by Revolution Medicines, has nearly doubled survival time in patients with advanced pancreatic cancer — one of the most lethal diseases known to medicine.
The results, simultaneously published in the prestigious New England Journal of Medicine, are being described by cancer specialists as a potential turning point in the treatment of a disease that has resisted meaningful progress for generations.
Old survival (chemo)
6.7 months
New survival (daraxonrasib)
13.2 months
Reduction in death risk
60%
Trial patients
500
Why pancreatic cancer is so feared
Pancreatic cancer is the third-leading cause of cancer deaths in the United States, killing nearly 53,000 people every year.
It is devastating not just because of how aggressive it is, but because of how quietly it grows. There are no reliable early screening tests, and the disease causes very few noticeable symptoms in its early stages. By the time a patient notices signs such as jaundice — a yellowing of the skin — or persistent abdominal pain, the cancer has typically already spread to other organs.
The numbers are sobering. Of patients diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic cancer between 2015 and 2021, around 97% died within five years.
The average survival after diagnosis of advanced disease, on standard chemotherapy, was less than seven months. For decades, that figure barely moved despite enormous investment in research. Pancreatic cancer became, in the words of many oncologists, a disease that medicine simply could not crack.
The "undruggable" mutation — and how daraxonrasib cracked it
The reason pancreatic cancer has been so difficult to treat comes down to a single genetic mutation called KRAS. This mutation is present in more than 90% of all pancreatic tumours and is what drives the uncontrolled cell growth that makes the disease so deadly. For years, cancer researchers tried and failed to develop drugs that could effectively bind to the KRAS protein and neutralise it.
The protein's shape made it almost impossible to target — earning it the nickname "undruggable" within the oncology community.
Daraxonrasib takes a different approach entirely.
Rather than attacking KRAS directly, the drug targets a molecule called cyclophilin A — a protein inside cells responsible for folding other proteins into their correct three-dimensional shapes.
The drug attaches to cyclophilin A, and this complex is then able to bind to the active KRAS protein and switch off its ability to instruct cancer cells to keep dividing. Crucially, unlike earlier generation drugs that only worked on specific KRAS variants, daraxonrasib works across multiple mutation types — making it potentially useful for a far wider range of patients.
It is also taken as a simple daily oral tablet — a significant practical advantage over treatments that require hospital infusions.
"KRAS, once considered 'undruggable', can now be successfully targeted — marking the beginning of a more personalised treatment approach for patients with KRAS-mutated pancreatic cancer."
— Dr Amol Akhade, Consultant Medical Oncologist, Fortis Hospital
Medical capsules and pills treatment
Daraxonrasib is taken as a daily oral tablet — a major advantage over treatments requiring hospital visits. Photo: Pexels
What the trial showed
The Phase 3 clinical trial, known as RASolute 302, enrolled 500 patients from North America, Europe, and Asia — all of whom had metastatic pancreatic cancer that had already stopped responding to previous chemotherapy. Half received daraxonrasib; the other half continued on standard chemotherapy.
The results were striking. Patients on daraxonrasib survived a median of 13.2 months — compared to just 6.7 months for those on chemotherapy. That is nearly double the survival time.
The drug also reduced the overall risk of death by 60%, and produced fewer severe side effects than standard chemotherapy. At a median follow-up of 8.5 months, the trial results were considered conclusive enough to be published immediately in the New England Journal of Medicine, one of the most respected medical journals in the world.
The US Food and Drug Administration had already granted daraxonrasib both Breakthrough Therapy and Orphan Drug designations before these results were published — a signal of how seriously regulators were taking the early evidence. As of May 2026, the drug is available via the FDA's expanded access programme to pancreatic cancer patients who have already undergone chemotherapy, while full approval is expected later this year.
What this means beyond pancreatic cancer
The significance of this breakthrough extends well beyond pancreatic cancer. KRAS mutations are found in many other cancer types, including lung cancer and colorectal cancer. Researchers are already studying whether daraxonrasib could be effective against these cancers too, with early results described as promising.
Scientists are also working on combination therapies — pairing daraxonrasib with other drugs to prevent tumours from developing resistance over time, which is one of the known challenges with targeted cancer therapies.
The goal, as one researcher put it, is to eventually turn pancreatic cancer from a disease that kills within months into something doctors can manage long-term — and one day, perhaps, cure.
Important note
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. If you or someone you know has been diagnosed with cancer, please consult a qualified medical professional for guidance on treatment options.
The bottom line
Daraxonrasib is not a cure. But in a disease where progress has been measured in weeks rather than years, nearly doubling survival time while reducing the risk of death by 60% is an extraordinary step forward. For the tens of thousands of people diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer every year — and for their families — this is the kind of news that changes everything. Science has found a way into a door that generations of researchers thought was permanently locked.
