The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday rubber-stamped a new drug to treat pancreatic cancer and substantially extend the lives of patients.
The drug, daraxonrasib, is produced by Revolution Medicines and was approved for individuals with metastatic pancreatic cancer who did not see success with chemotherapy. Doctors have sung the praises of the drug, and it was credited by former Sen. Ben Sasse for extending his life after his terminal cancer diagnosis.
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The drug will be sold under the brand name Rasonque and is a once-daily tablet, according to an FDA press release. It works by inhibiting the activity of RAS proteins, which are cell growth regulators that can cause constant cancer cell proliferation when mutated. In clinical trials conducted by Revolution Medicines, the drug nearly doubled the survival rate for chemotherapy.
Acting FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas championed the drug’s approval as a huge step for cancer patients.
“Today’s approval provides a critical new option for patients facing an extraordinarily difficult and historically hard-to-treat cancer,” he said. “It is our fundamental duty to deliver more cures and meaningful treatments to patients as quickly as possible.”
In clinical trials, the drug produced a median overall survival of 13.2 months, nearly double the median overall survival for chemotherapy, which pinged at 6.7 months. The FDA allowed Revolution Medicines to expand access to daraxonrasib.
Sasse was able to enroll in a clinical trial for daraxonrasib earlier this year after being diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer. He told the New York Times in April that the drug had shrunk his tumor volume by 76% since his diagnosis in December 2025.
Pancreatic cancer is particularly dangerous because in most cases, the disease has progressed to late stages by the time it is diagnosed, often with a low survival rate, leaving patients with few traditional treatment options other than chemotherapy. The new drug is not a cure but rather gives patients more time by blocking the growth signal that tells the body to make more cancer cells.
Anna Berkenblit, chief scientific and medical officer of the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, called the drug’s FDA approval “the most significant advance” in pancreatic cancer treatment she has seen.
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“I believe this drug will transform how pancreatic cancer is treated, giving people the opportunity for more time with loved ones, the possibility of a better quality of life and optimism that continued research may lead to even greater advances,” Berkenblit said.
Revolution Medicines said the new drug will cost patients $39,800 for a 30-day supply, but insured patients could see prices as little as $0 with co-pay assistance.
