"A defining moment": The FDA has approved a new drug for the treatment of pancreatic cancer

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved a new drug for pancreatic cancer today, which experts say could fundamentally change the treatment of this deadly disease. The drug, Rasonque (scientific name: daraxonrasib), is manufactured by Revolution Medicines and was approved for patients with advanced pancreatic cancer who have already undergone prior treatment, such as chemotherapy.

The company's stock, traded on NASDAQ under the symbol RVMD, is currently rising by 1.1%. According to a late-stage clinical trial involving 500 patients, those who received the drug alongside standard chemotherapy lived almost twice as long on average — 13.2 months — compared to those receiving chemotherapy alone.

Dr. Rachna Shroff, head of the Division of Hematology and Oncology at the University of Arizona Cancer Center, stated:

"This is a game changer for all of us who treat pancreatic cancer. It is unprecedented."

The drug does have side effects, including a blistering rash, sores in the mouth and throat, vomiting, and diarrhea. Former Senator Ben Sasse, who received the drug during clinical trials, described the rash as "nuclear" in a podcast earlier this spring.

Channing Der, a pharmacologist at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, called the approval "a defining moment in the treatment of pancreatic cancer":

"Pancreatic cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in the US, and the most lethal of all cancers. This is just the beginning of further advances to come."

Rasonque is taken as a daily pill and targets a mutation in the KRAS gene, which is found in nearly all cases of pancreatic cancer. The gene acts as an on-off switch for cell growth; the mutation causes it to get stuck in the "active" position, leading to uncontrollable cell proliferation. Previous attempts to target this mutation had failed until the arrival of Rasonque.

According to the American Cancer Society, more than 67,000 people in the US are expected to be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year. It remains one of the most difficult cancers to treat, as there is no screening test and early symptoms are often vague, leading to late-stage diagnoses. The five-year survival rate for pancreatic adenocarcinoma is currently 8%. Revolution Medicines stated that over 2,000 patients have already received Rasonque through an expanded access program. The manufacturer has not yet disclosed the drug's cost.