The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has granted expedited approval to daraxonrasib, a new drug for the most common type of pancreatic cancer. This pill is designed to offer US patients a more effective treatment option for one of the deadliest forms of the disease.
Daraxonrasib is a first-of-a-kind pill that works by blocking a mutated protein responsible for fuelling tumour growth in over 90% of pancreatic cancer cases. This approach to targeting the cancer has been a long-standing challenge for drug developers.
In a company-funded study involving 500 patients with metastatic cancer that had stopped responding to previous treatment, those receiving daraxonrasib nearly doubled their survival time, experiencing fewer severe side effects. Patients on the new treatment lived for a median of 13.2 months, compared to 6.7 months for those given chemotherapy.
Revolution Medicines will sell the daily pills under the brand name Rasonque. The FDA's acting commissioner, Kyle Diamantas, stated that it is their duty to deliver treatments to patients as quickly as possible, noting the drug's approval came more than six months ahead of schedule.