pattaspointsofscience

Cancer is the scary ‘c’ word, one you would not wish upon your worst enemy. Billions have been poured into combating the greatest heavyweight champion. However with more than 200 distinct subtypes there is no true blanket therapy.

Every day there is more hope and news that scientists are getting closer to the right medication for your and your loved ones. Enter daraxonrasib, developed by Revolution Medicines, a rising contender stepping into the ring against pancreatic cancer.

Pancreatic cancer itself is deadly, but packs a powerful punch as it has the ability to strike within ones system, leaving little room for recovery. But this novel drug is able to target all 3 RAS opponents! Now what are RAS proteins, they are KRAS, NRAS and HRAS, which are involved in cell growth. These are the most common mutated oncogenes and having been previously deemed ‘undruggable’.

There has been success in the past at inhibiting KRAS. While it has the ability to lands some heavy punches, none have delivered a knockout blow, whereas daraxonrasib is able to target the majority of RAS proteins by blocking downstream effector binding, therefore preventing oncogenic signalling.

But, how effective really is this new champion drug? Phase III clinical trial demonstrated significance in that it reached both primary and secondary endpoints, in fact the 500 participants taking 300mg of daraxonrasib as an oral drug daily had lived almost twice as long and with a death rate of 60% lower than those undertaking traditional chemotherapy.

It was not without adverse effects, 96% of participants reported effects such as skin rash and gastrointestinal issues, for example diarrhoea. Despite these side effects, daraxonrasib remains a promising treatment to those with mutant-RAS pancreatic cancer.

So, is daraxonrasib the one you need to be placing bets on? It has certainly caught the eye of many oncologists. The FDA has granted its use beyond clinical trials for pancreatic patients with an opponent so formidable that they have no other treatment option. Further studies are necessary to understand if daraxonrasib can go the distance and be a new champion, but the results so far deliver a strong stance.