A new treatment, Daraxonrasib, could change the management of metastatic pancreatic cancer, one of the deadliest cancers. Presented at the American College of Oncology Annual Meeting, this once-daily oral drug doubles the average survival of patients already treated with chemotherapy: 13.2 months compared to 6.7 months.
This advance is significant for a disease where more than 90% of tumors have a mutation in the KRAS gene, long considered impossible to target. Until now, no effective therapy existed after the failure of the first chemotherapy treatment, which generally loses its effectiveness after six months.
Daraxonrasib causes fewer severe side effects than chemotherapy, although it can cause skin rashes, nausea, or diarrhea. It does not cure the disease but slows its progression and improves quality of life. However, resistance appears on average after 7.3 months, prompting researchers to explore new strategies.
Several avenues are being explored:
testing the drug as soon as it is diagnosed, before chemotherapy;
combining it with other KRAS inhibitors;
understanding the mechanisms of resistance in order to design future therapies.
The treatment is not yet available in France, where it could be approved in 2027. In the United States, it is already available but costs approximately $30,000 per month.
Beyond pancreatic cancer, Daraxonrasib could benefit other cancers with similar mutations, including 30% of lung cancers and 40% of colorectal cancers. Trials are already underway for these indications, as well as for bile duct cancers. Oncologists believe this molecule could play a major role in the coming years.
 Frank Verain
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04/06/2026 | 
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