Women's Health June 12, 2026 0 Comments

Could This Breakthrough Drug Be the Game-Changer Pancreatic Cancer Patients Have Been Waiting For?

Ever wondered if science could actually pull off the impossible and almost double survival time for one of the deadliest cancers out there? Pancreatic cancer has long been the grim reaper’s favorite, with stage IV patients facing a survival rate as scant as 3 percent. But hold onto your hats, because a game-changing experimental drug called daraxonrasib is turning heads—and hopes—by nearly doubling survival time in recent clinical trials. Though it’s still waiting for FDA’s official thumbs up, this medication has oncologists hustling to get it into the hands of patients ASAP. Curious how this new pill works its magic and what it means for the future of pancreatic cancer treatment? Let’s dive in and unpack the buzzworthy breakthroughs that might just rewrite the story of this stubborn disease. LEARN MORE.

4 min read

Pancreatic cancer is one of the most deadly cancers, with a survival rate as low as 3 percent for stage IV patients.
An experimental medication, daraxonrasib, was found to nearly double survival time for participants in a recent clinical trial.
The drug is not-yet FDA-approved, but doctors able to apply to get it for their patients.

Pancreatic cancer is a notoriously deadly disease, with an overall five-year survival rate of just 13 percent. In patients with stage IV pancreatic cancer, which is a majority of people with the disease, that five-year survival rate drops to just three percent.

“Stage IV pancreatic cancer has historically had a very poor prognosis,” says Shubham Pant, MD, a gastrointestinal oncologist at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center. That may be changing, though. A new medication called daraxonrasib is generating a lot of buzz after nearly doubling survival time in clinical trials.

“We have never seen results of this caliber in pancreatic cancer treatment,” says Ignacio Garrido Laguna, MD , PhD, chair of early therapeutics development at Moffitt Cancer Center.

The medication just got through phase 3 of its trials and is not yet approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but the latest findings have been so jaw-dropping that oncologists around the country are scrambling to get access for their patients. Here’s why.

Meet the experts: Ignacio Garrido Laguna, MD , PhD, is chair of early therapeutics development at Moffitt Cancer Center. Peter Hosein, MD, is the associate director for clinical research with Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Pancreatic Cancer Research Institute. Brandon Huffman, MD, is a medical oncologist in the gastrointestinal cancer center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Shubham Pant, MD, is a gastrointestinal oncologist at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.

What did the study find?

For the study, which was recently presented at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) annual meeting, researchers recruited 500 people with pancreatic cancer across North America, Europe, and Asia. All of the participants had already been through chemotherapy for metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (mPDAC), and they were all required to be able to carry out most of their usual activities.

After about 8.5 months, the group that was randomly assigned to receive daraxonrasib had an overall survival rate of about 13.2 months, while the group that received chemotherapy had a survival rate of about 6.6 to 6.7 months, depending on the type of tumor the participant had. That means the survival time was nearly doubled with daraxonrasib compared to chemo.

The patients who received daraxonrasib also had a lower incidence of serious side effects than those who went through chemotherapy—which makes a big difference when it comes to quality of life. Forty-four percent of patients in the daraxonrasib group experienced those more intense side effects while 57.5 percent of the chemotherapy group did. Based on side effects, only 1.2 percent of people in the daraxonrasib group stopped their treatment, compared to 11.2 percent of those in the chemotherapy group.

What’s new about this drug?

Daraxonrasib is an experimental medication, meaning it is new and not yet approved. But the results of this study are being submitted to the FDA to support its approval, and more trials are already underway.

As for what makes this med so special—aside from its effectiveness—it’s an oral pill that is much more targeted than chemo and functions entirely differently. “It has a very novel mechanism of action,” Dr. Laguna says. Daraxonrasib targets the KRAS protein, turning it off and stopping cancer growth—whether or not a patient has a mutation in that protein.

That said, “the vast majority of pancreatic cancers are driven by a KRAS mutation,” explains Peter Hosein, MD, associate director for clinical research with Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center’s Pancreatic Cancer Research Institute. We’re talking more than 90 percent of cases.

There are other drugs approved to target a KRAS subtype called G12C, but that’s just one subtype, Dr. Hosein says, and it’s less common. “Daraxonrasib can inhibit any subtype of KRAS and is the first drug in this class of ‘panRAS’ inhibitors to show success in a large phase 3 study,” he says.

While the drug is effective, it’s still not a cure.

Pancreatic cancer has one of the lowest survival rates of all cancers, per Cleveland Clinic. One of the biggest reasons is that pancreatic cancer is often caught during later stages. “Unfortunately, we don’t have tools to make an early diagnosis,” says Dr. Laguna. “Most of our patients will be diagnosed with very advanced metastatic disease.”

That means these patients can’t be cured, even with daraxonrasib. “Even though daraxonrasib has been shown to help people live longer, it is not a cure,” says Brandon Huffman, MD, a medical oncologist in the gastrointestinal cancer center at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. “Eventually, pancreatic cancers will become resistant to the therapy, and lives will be shortened as a consequence.”

Dr. Huffman calls daraxonrasib “a really critical and promising first step establishing that we can block the main driver of growth in this cancer,” but says there’s still a long way to go before the disease can be cured.

How can people with pancreatic cancer get daraxonrasib?

While the medication is still not approved by the FDA, Revolution Medicines (which makes daraxonrasib) has created an expanded access program to make the drug accessible to patients who are eligible. “Any oncologist in the US can apply for their patient to get on that expanded access program,” Dr. Pant says.

So, if you or a loved one has been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and you’re interested in taking daraxonrasib, talk to your oncologist. They should be able to provide guidance about next steps.

Korin Miller is a freelance writer specializing in general wellness, sexual health and relationships, and lifestyle trends, with work appearing in Men’s Health, Women’s Health, Self, Glamour, and more. She has a master’s degree from American University, lives by the beach, and hopes to own a teacup pig and taco truck one day.