Daraxonrasib: A Game-Changer For Pancreatic Cancer
- Former U.S. Senator Ben Sasse, 54, says the drug daraxonrasib, marketed as Rasonque, has dramatically shrunk his tumors during his fight against metastatic pancreatic cancer.
- The drug Sasse has described as a “miracle” was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on Aug. 26, 2026.
- Daraxonrasib, marketed as Rasonque by Revolution Medicines, Inc., cleared the drug for adults with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The approval covers patients who have already undergone at least one round of systemic therapy, as well as those deemed unsuitable for combination chemotherapy regimens.
- This FDA approval has been commented as “a monumental shift in the treatment of pancreatic cancer” and a “historic day,” by Dr. Peter Hosein, M.D., associate director for clinical research at the Pancreatic Cancer Research Institute at Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, part of the University of Miami Health System.
- Pancreatic cancer remains one of the hardest cancers to detect and treat, driven by subtle symptoms hard to detect until it reaches late‑stage, though early detection dramatically improves outcomes.
- If you ever need extra help between appointments on your treatment journey, just ask SurvivorNet’s My Health Questions, which offers doctor-supported information to move forward.
The medication, which he describes as a “miracle” drug, was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on August 26, 2026, for adults with previously treated metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Rasonque (daraxonrasib) is an oral RAS-targeting drug.
Read More“We’re just poisoning the heck out of them, and they keep, you know, putting their arms over their head, and the tumors keep getting smaller.”
‘Ten Percent of the Pain’
It’s worth noting that Sasse had previously disclosed a 76% reduction in tumor size during an April 2026 appearance on CBS’s 60 Minutes. Then in July 2026, Sola Media put out an update reporting his tumors had shrunk by more than 80%, attributing the success to the clinical trial he’s in, using the drug daraxonrasib.
Sasse continued, “I’m not going to make it, but we’re going to get a lot of extra time because of this drug.
“So I have ten percent of the pain now that I had in November, December, when I had a bunch of tumors pushing on my spine and we didn’t know what was wrong.”
He then moved to his major point: that it’s good to recognize our dependence on God rather than trying to control everything or claim abilities that belong only to God.
Sasse also took some time to express gratitude toward his wife, who has been by his side throughout his whole cancer journey, which he recounted started last winter.
“I became symptomatic in late October, but wasn’t diagnosed till mid-December. Then we just pounded the doors everywhere in the country to figure out who are the best cancer specialists,” Sasse explained.
“I have pancreatic cancer that’s metastasized into five other systems, but pancreatic cancer is the most fatal kind—87% death rate overall, but a 97% death rate within 12 months if you’re stage four. And I presented at advanced stage four.”
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Sasse noted that from mid-December through New Year’s, he and his family were urgently seeking oncologists and a clinical trial that might offer his best treatment option, all while he was extremely sick, vomiting constantly and struggling with the disease.
He continued, “But I’ve had five months that have been pretty great compared to last fall when we didn’t know what was wrong. When I was for seven weeks symptomatic but hadn’t yet been diagnosed, I had a million things that were wrong.”
“I look back now and I just stand in awe at my wife’s kindness to me, her just incredible patience when we didn’t know what was wrong. And I was just a terrible person to be around,” he shared.
Thankfully, Sasse can enjoy more time with his wife and family with the help of daraxonrasib, a targeted therapy that has progressed through late-stage trials and represents an important advance in pancreatic cancer care.
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In the landmark phase 3 RASolute-302 trial, daraxonrasib showed a statistically significant survival benefit over standard chemotherapy in patients with previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer. Building on FDA breakthrough therapy and orphan drug designations, daraxonrasib was approved by the FDA on August 26, 2026, under the brand name Rasonque, for the most common form of pancreatic cancer—delivering a new treatment option to patients with advanced disease months ahead of schedule.
A ‘Paradigm Shift’
Rasonque, which is taken as a once-daily tablet, targets multiple forms of the RAS protein, a key driver of tumor growth in most patients with pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
“The impact of this FDA approval cannot be understated. This is by far the most effective treatment ever to be developed for pancreatic cancer. The survival in the pivotal RASolute 302 trial was more than twice as good with Rasonque [daraxonrasib] compared to chemotherapy,” Dr. Hosein told SurvivorNet.
“With other ongoing trials, it is conceivable that in the future, we will recommend this pill for someone with newly diagnosed pancreatic cancer rather than chemotherapy infusions which have been the standard for decades.”
He continued, “Rasonque represents a paradigm shift in the care of patients with pancreatic cancer. It is the news that patients and families have been desperately waiting for. It is also a great testament to the tremendous value in investing in science.
“Researchers have been trying to make a breakthrough in RAS inhibition for decades and due to unrelenting persistence, this breakthrough is finally here.”
Meanwhile, Dr. Anna Berkenblit, Chief Scientific and Medical Officer at Pancreatic Cancer Action Network (PanCAN), previously told SurvivorNet in a recent interview, “The news from [drugmaker] Revolution Medicines that their RAS inhibitor, called daraxonrasib, approximately doubles overall survival in patients with previously treated, metastatic pancreatic cancer is huge. This is a truly remarkable result.”
In the trial, median overall survival was 13.2 months in patients receiving daraxonrasib, compared with 6.7 months in those receiving chemotherapy, as previously reported by Revolution Medicines. This is one of the biggest breakthroughs in the treatment of pancreatic cancer in the era of precision oncology.
Daraxonrasib is an inhibitor of RAS(ON) proteins. In simple terms, the drug inhibits the active RAS protein that promotes pancreatic tumor cell growth. Over 90% of all pancreatic cancers have RAS mutations, Dr. Berkenblit explains. Although this fact had long been known, no effective treatment had previously emerged.
“We anticipate the daraxonrasib will move up into earlier lines of therapy and not just daraxonrasib, but RAS inhibitors in general,” Dr. Berkenblit said.
“If it works this well in patients with previously treated metastatic disease, we’re really excited about the potential of it working even better in frontline or untreated metastatic patients, and maybe even in the adjuvant [after surgery] setting for the small percent of patients who are diagnosed with early-stage, localized disease that can be surgically removed.”
In July 2026, the FDA accepted a New Drug Application (NDA) for daraxonrasib, as per a news release from Revolution Medicines.
Then, on August 26, 2026, the FDA granted approval to daraxonrasib, marketed as Rasonque by Revolution Medicines, Inc., clearing the drug for adults with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma. The approval covers patients who have already undergone at least one round of systemic therapy, as well as those deemed unsuitable for combination chemotherapy regimens.
FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas, J.D., said in a statement alongside the approval news, “Today’s approval provides a critical new option for patients facing an extraordinarily difficult and historically hard-to-treat cancer. It is our fundamental duty to deliver more cures and meaningful treatments to patients as quickly as possible.
“I am immensely proud of the dedicated FDA scientists whose fast, thorough review and relentless commitment made this groundbreaking milestone a reality.”
WATCH: Why Pancreatic Cancer Is Difficult to Treat
Daraxonrasib is designed to target the KRAS‑driven biology behind most pancreatic tumors.
KRAS mutations appear in roughly 90% of pancreatic cancer cases, yet until now, no therapy has effectively exploited this vulnerability.
In the Phase 3 RASolute‑302 trial, the drug more than doubled median overall survival—13.2 months compared with 6.7 months on standard chemotherapy—offering new hope for patients who have historically had few effective options.
RELATED: What Does it Mean to Try an “Off-label” or “Experimental” Cancer Treatment?
The Power Of Daraxonrasib
Pancreatic cancer is notoriously difficult to detect early, often remaining silent until it has advanced. Its biology also makes it challenging to treat.
“Around eighty percent of pancreatic cancer patients already have advanced disease by the time they’re diagnosed, severely limiting treatment options,” explains Dr. Anirban Maitra, Co-Leader of the Pancreatic Cancer Moon Shot at MD Anderson Cancer Center.
“Just twenty percent of patients have their cancer caught early enough to make them a candidate for surgery, the only way pancreatic cancer can be cured.”
Dr. Allyson Ocean of Weill Cornell explains that pancreatic tumors are surrounded by a dense, protective stroma that blocks chemotherapy and radiation from reaching cancer cells effectively. However, new developments, like daraxonrasib, are shifting what’s possible.
WATCH: A Potential New Era Of Targeted Therapy For Pancreatic Cancer
Daraxonrasib is being hailed as potentially “game‑changing” for patients with Kirsten rat sarcoma viral oncogene homolog (KRAS)‑mutated pancreatic cancer — a gene mutation present in roughly 90% of cases and historically considered nearly untreatable.
KRAS has long been a difficult target for treatment because its smooth structure lacks the pockets where most drugs typically bind to become effective.
“It’s a very smooth protein. It doesn’t have places for drugs to grab onto,” Dr. Nicholas Hornstein of Northwell’s Lenox Hill Hospital told SurvivorNet.
Daraxonrasib works differently. Acting as a kind of “molecular glue,” it binds the KRAS gene to another protein, locking it in an inactive state. This mechanism may allow it to work across multiple KRAS mutations, potentially benefiting a wider group of patients who carry the KRAS gene.
The Phase 3 RASolute 302 clinical trial tested daraxonrasib against standard chemotherapy in patients with previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer.
For clinicians, the implications are significant.
“If I have an 81‑year‑old who doesn’t look like a candidate for chemotherapy, now I have an option that isn’t chemo,” Dr. Hornstein noted.
Who Can Benefit From Daraxonrasib?
The patients included in the phase 3 study had metastatic PDAC that was refractory (non-responsive) to prior treatment, but Dr. Berkenblit predicts the drug may also have uses in earlier-stage disease.
“If the FDA approves the drug after reviewing the efficacy and safety data, the initial population would be patients with previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer. That’s just the beginning,” Dr. Berkenblit explains.
Initially, patients would need to meet certain requirements to get daraxonrasib, including:
- Measurable metastatic disease
- An acceptable performance status that allows them to conduct most daily activities
- Well-functioning organs
Again, in the trial, Daraxonrasib was compared to the standard chemotherapy.
Understanding Pancreatic Cancer
Pancreatic cancer is a type of cancer that forms in the pancreas. It is more challenging to treat because symptoms usually don’t present themselves until the cancer has spread or metastasized. Symptoms may include weight loss, back pain, and jaundice.
Pancreatic cancer often comes with a slim chance of survival due to difficulty detecting it when it is more treatable.
RELATED: What You Need to Know About Pancreatic Cancer
Although pancreatic cancer survival rates have been improving, it’s still considered to be largely incurable. An exception to this is if the tumor is still small enough and localized enough to be operated on.
WATCH: Pancreatic cancer and early detection.
In a previous interview with SurvivorNet, Dr. Maitra explained what he typically sees when patients develop this disease.
“Because the pancreas is inside the abdomen often doesn’t have symptoms that would tell you that something is wrong with your pancreas,” he said.
“By the time individuals walk into the clinic with symptoms like jaundice, weight loss, back pain or diabetes, it’s often very late in the stage of the disease.”
Meanwhile, parents, siblings and children of someone with pancreatic cancer are considered high risk for developing the disease because they are first-degree relatives of the individual. PGVs (pathogenic germline variants) are changes in reproductive cells (sperm or egg) that become part of the DNA in the cells of the offspring. Germline variants are passed from parents to their children, and are associated with increased risks of several cancer types, including pancreatic, ovarian and breast cancers. Germline mutations in ATM, BRCA1, BRCA2, CKDN2A, PALB2, PRSS1, STK11 and TP53 are associated with increased risk of pancreatic cancer.
Jessica Everett, a genetic counselor at NYU Langone’s Perlmutter Cancer Center, encourages people in this category to explore screening options.
“If you’re concerned about pancreatic cancer in your family, start by talking to a genetic counselor to learn more about your risk and what options you have,” Everett told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview.
Additionally, note that up to ten percent of pancreatic cancer cases are caused by inherited genetic syndromes. So, if two or more members of your family have had pancreatic cancer, or if you have pancreatic cysts, it’s worth asking your doctor to check for pancreatic cancer since you’re at high risk.
The National Cancer Institute identifies pancreatic cancer symptoms to include:
- Dark urine
- Pain in the abdomen
- Unexplained weight loss
- Light-colored stools
- Loss of appetite and fatigue
Treatment options for pancreatic cancer may include surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, and targeted therapy.
Questions to Ask Your Doctor
If you are facing a pancreatic cancer diagnosis, you may have questions but are unsure how to get the answers you need. SurvivorNet suggests asking your doctor the following questions to kick-start your journey toward more solid answers.
- What type of pancreatic cancer do I have?
- Has my cancer spread beyond my pancreas?
- If so, where has it spread, and what is the stage of the disease?
- What is my prognosis?
- What are my treatment options?
- What side effects should I expect after undergoing treatment?
- Will insurance cover my recommended treatment?
Check out SurvivorNet’s proprietary AI tool “My Health Questions,” designed specifically for patients and caregivers.
This powerful resource is embedded throughout the SurvivorNet website and delivers structured responses grounded in clinical guidelines and medically reviewed research to help people better understand their treatment options and feel more confident navigating care.
My Health Questions can also help patients prepare useful questions ahead of their next appointment.
WATCH: How One Cancer Survivor and Her Sister Used “My Health Questions” to Navigate Care
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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