For decades, pancreatic cancer has carried one of medicine’s hardest truths. It often hides until it has spread. Once that happens, treatment options narrow fast.

Now an experimental drug called daraxonrasib has opened a new path. The once-daily pill targets RAS, a protein family tied to the cancer’s growth. KRAS, the best-known member, drives more than 90% of pancreatic cancers, according to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.

A new pancreatic cancer drug is raising hopes after decades of limited treatment progress.

The Trial Results Drew Urgent Attention

In a late-stage study, patients with previously treated metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma lived a median of 13.2 months on daraxonrasib. Those who received standard chemotherapy lived a median of 6.7 months, Reuters reports.

The drug also delayed disease progression in the trial, according to Revolution Medicines, which said the study met its main goals for overall survival and progression-free survival. The company plans to submit the data to regulators, Revolution Medicines announced.

Pancreatic cancer is often diagnosed after it has already spread.

Why This Drug Matters

Daraxonrasib is different from earlier RAS drugs because it was built to act across a broader range of RAS mutations seen in pancreatic cancer. It is a RAS(ON) multi-selective inhibitor, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute reports.

The drug’s early human trial enrolled 168 patients with previously treated advanced pancreatic cancer. Most had side effects, including rash, mouth inflammation, nausea, and diarrhea. Researchers said the safety profile was manageable for many patients, though Reuters reported severe or life-threatening treatment-related events in 30% of patients, citing the published trial data in Reuters.

KRAS mutations are found in more than 90% of pancreatic cancer cases.

Patients Are Already Seeking Access

The FDA has allowed an expanded access program for eligible patients with previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer. The agency said daraxonrasib is designed to inhibit RAS, which is mutated in most pancreatic cancer tumors, according to the FDA.

That access is not the same as a normal prescription. Licensed treating physicians must initiate requests, and patients cannot apply directly, Revolution Medicines says.

Cancer centers are already fielding heavy demand. U.S. clinics have moved quickly to enroll patients, but doctors say the process can strain staff because it requires institutional review and case-by-case paperwork, Reuters reports.

Doctors caution that daraxonrasib is not a cure.

Hope With Limits

Doctors are not calling daraxonrasib a cure. The drug remains investigational. It also comes with side effects that require close care.

Still, the data have shifted the mood around a cancer long marked by scarce progress. At Memorial Sloan Kettering, researchers noted that many patients in the early trial saw their cancer controlled longer than expected after prior treatment, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center reports.

More trials are underway, including studies that will test daraxonrasib earlier in treatment and alongside chemotherapy. For patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer, that next phase cannot come soon enough.