June 2, 2026, 8:32 am | Read time: 5 minutes
Pancreatic cancer is among the most aggressive and feared types of cancer. The disease often causes no clear symptoms for a long time, which is why it is often detected late and then becomes difficult to treat. This makes the attention surrounding a new study, now published in the prestigious journal New England Journal of Medicine, all the more significant. At the center is a newly developed drug that could, for the first time, target a central growth driver of many tumors—significantly improving patients’ survival chances.
Researchers Target a Long-Unassailable Mechanism
Each year, about 20,000 people in Germany are newly diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. The disease is one of the cancers with a particularly poor prognosis. One reason is a genetic alteration found in more than 90 percent of all tumors: the so-called RAS mutation.
Munich oncologist and molecular biologist Dr. Benedikt Westphalen sees the current study results as a significant advancement. He is the medical director of precision oncology at the Comprehensive Cancer Center of Ludwig Maximilian University in Munich. He also leads the Molecular Tumor Conference and works at the Medical Clinic and Polyclinic III of the University Hospital Munich. He told BILD: “This is a revolutionary study. Ten years ago, it was considered absolutely impossible that such a drug would ever exist!”
The mutation acts like a permanent growth accelerator for cancer cells. “This gene mutation is like a gas pedal, driving cell growth,” explains Dr. Westphalen. As a result, tumor cells grow faster, spread more easily in the body, and can better resist previous treatments. For a long time, this mechanism was considered almost untreatable. “For decades, RAS mutations were considered untargetable because drugs could not attach to the altered protein and therefore could not block its function. This study shows for the first time that it is indeed possible,” explains the physician and molecular biologist.
How the Drug Inhibits Cancer Protein
The focus of the investigation is the drug Daraxonrasib.1 It is an oral medication that specifically targets activated RAS proteins. The study tested different dosages ranging from 10 to 400 milligrams per day. A daily dose of 300 milligrams was selected for further clinical development.
According to the researchers, the drug targets a mechanism that was previously considered almost untreatable.
“The drug targets this altered protein. It piggybacks on another protein, thereby managing to restrict the function of the mutated RAS protein,” says Westphalen. The goal is to reduce the growth advantage of cancer cells and slow the progression of the disease.
Positive Results in Previously Treated Patients
A total of 168 patients with advanced, metastatic pancreatic cancer participated in the Phase 1 and Phase 2 studies. All patients had already received other therapies that no longer showed sufficient success. Despite this challenging starting point, the results were promising. Up to 35 percent of the patients responded to the treatment. Their tumors shrank measurably.
Furthermore, the progression of the disease could be delayed on average for several months. In a closely examined patient group, the median duration of response was 8.2 months. The so-called progression-free survival averaged 8.5 months.
Positive results were also observed in another group of patients with different RAS mutations. There, 29 percent of participants responded to the therapy.
Survival Time Significantly Extended
The data on life expectancy are particularly noteworthy. The study suggests that patients under treatment lived significantly longer than previously usual.
“This is a breakthrough. The survival time for patients with metastatic pancreatic cancer is often less than a year. The patients in the study lived significantly longer, even though they had already passed part of their expected survival time,” Dr. Westphalen notes.
In one examined patient group, the median overall survival was 13.1 months. In another group, it even reached 15.6 months. Given the often very limited life expectancy in metastatic pancreatic cancer, these values are considered remarkable by experts.
Side Effects Remain a Challenge
Like many modern cancer drugs, Daraxonrasib was not free from side effects. According to the study authors, 96 percent of participants reported treatment-related complaints.
Severe side effects occurred in about 30 percent of patients. The most common adverse effects included skin rashes, diarrhea, nausea, inflammation of the oral mucosa, vomiting, and fatigue.
Nevertheless, the researchers consider the side effects to be generally manageable. Further studies are now expected to show how efficacy and tolerability present in larger patient groups.
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When the Drug Could Be Available
It may still take some time before patients in Germany can regularly benefit from the drug. Experts expect that approval in the U.S. could occur later this year. When Daraxonrasib will be approved in Europe and Germany is currently still open.
For affected individuals, the only option for now is usually to access the drug or similar agents through clinical trials.
“Unfortunately, there is only the possibility of obtaining this or similar drugs through studies for now, and places in these studies are unfortunately very limited. It is hoped that approval in Europe and Germany will not take too long, so this drug becomes available to our patients as soon as possible,” says the expert.
Research on Other RAS Drugs Already Underway
For Dr. Westphalen, the current results mark not the end but rather the beginning of a new development in cancer medicine. Worldwide, numerous research groups are already working on other agents that function on similar principles and are directed against RAS mutations. “Fifty RAS-targeted drugs are already in development, functioning through similar mechanisms.”
Whether the promising results will be confirmed in larger studies remains to be seen in the coming years. However, the newly published data provide the first solid evidence that a long-considered unreachable goal in cancer research might indeed be attainable.