Pancreatic cancer drug earns standing ovation at global congress

Pancreatic cancer remains one of the deadliest malignancies, with more than half of cases diagnosed only after metastasis has occurred and a five-year relative survival rate of approximately 3% for patients with metastatic disease.

Against that backdrop, results from the RASolute 302 trial sparked one of the most dramatic moments of the 2026 American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting, earning a standing ovation after investigators reported that oral daraxonrasib doubled both overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival (PFS) compared with chemotherapy in previously treated metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC).

The reaction came during the plenary session when a slide revealed that daraxonrasib was associated with a 60% reduction in the risk for death. In the packed-to-the-rafters auditorium, attendees rose to their feet, cheering, whistling and shouting.

Dr Julie Gralow, chief medical officer and executive vice president of ASCO, called the results not just a home run but “a grand slam” for both patients and investigators.

Daraxonrasib is the first in a new class of medicines known as RAS(ON) inhibitors. The drug has been developed by Revolution Medicines which does not have a corporate presence in Australia.

After a median follow-up of 8.5 months, patients with RAS G12 mutations who received daraxonrasib achieved a median OS of 13.2 months, compared with 6.6 months among those assigned to chemotherapy (p<.001). The benefit extended to the overall study population, a key secondary endpoint. Median OS was 13.2 months in the daraxonrasib arm versus 6.7 months in the chemotherapy group (p<.001), closely mirroring the results seen in the RAS G12 subgroup.

Progression-free survival outcomes were similarly compelling. In the RAS G12 population, median PFS was 7.3 months with daraxonrasib compared with 3.5 months with chemotherapy (p<.001). Across the overall population, median PFS was 7.2 months and 3.6 months, respectively (p<.001).

According to pancreatic cancer advocacy group Pankind, the findings are “not an endpoint in itself”. The RASolute 303 trial is already underway, evaluating daraxonrasib in first-line patients and in combination with chemotherapy. Development in the adjuvant setting is expected to follow.

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