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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a groundbreaking new treatment for advanced pancreatic cancer. The pill, named RASONQUE (daraxonrasib), is developed by Revolution Medicines and is taken once daily. It targets mutations in the RAS gene, which is responsible for over 90% of pancreatic cancer cases. This new treatment option is expected to transform the management of this aggressive disease, which has limited treatment options and a low survival rate.
In a pivotal Phase 3 clinical trial, RASONQUE demonstrated a significant improvement in survival rates. Patients who took the pill lived an average of 13.2 months, compared to 6.7 months for those receiving standard chemotherapy. The trial also showed that RASONQUE reduced the risk of death by 60% and improved patients' quality of life.
Andrew Ko, a medical oncologist at the University of California, San Francisco, described the approval as a "transformative" advancement in treating pancreatic cancer. According to STAT News, the approval of RASONQUE marks a new era in cancer treatment, offering hope to patients and their families.
The cost of RASONQUE is expected to be about $40,000 per month, but Revolution Medicines offers a comprehensive patient support program to help with financial assistance and insurance navigation. PanCAN, a pancreatic cancer advocacy group, has hailed the approval as the most significant advancement in the fight against this disease.
The FDA's approval is based on the RASolute 302 trial, which evaluated the efficacy and safety of RASONQUE compared to chemotherapy. The trial results were presented at the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting and published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
RASONQUE is now available for prescription in the United States, and ongoing research aims to explore its potential in combination with other therapies and in different cancer types.