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The Daraxonrasib Success Story
How RAS went from "undruggable" to Rasonque, the first RAS-targeted medicine to extend survival in pancreatic cancer, and the best reporting and science behind it.
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I've been collecting the best articles, interviews, and papers on the success of daraxonrasib, and figured they might be useful to others too. So here they are, in one place.
On August 26, 2026, the FDA approved Revolution Medicines' Rasonque (daraxonrasib) for adults with metastatic pancreatic adenocarcinoma who have received at least one prior systemic therapy or are not candidates for multiagent systemic therapy.
The approval followed the RASolute 302 trial, in which median overall survival was 13.2 months with daraxonrasib and 6.7 months with chemotherapy. The hazard ratio for death was 0.40. For a disease that had resisted targeted therapy for decades, the result is a major clinical and scientific milestone.
Median months in previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer. Hazard ratio for death 0.40.
Overall survival
Progression-free survival
The story is also unusually rich. It encompasses the long effort to drug RAS, the development of a molecular glue that recruits cyclophilin A, the transformation of Revolution Medicines into a commercial company, and the emerging question of how cancers will escape RAS(ON) inhibition.
This page follows that story through the most useful reporting, interviews, commentaries, and scientific papers, grouped from discovery to what comes next. Each link is tagged by whether it's free to read or needs a subscription: Free, Open access, Subscription, or Research paper.
Start here
How an 'Impossible' Idea Led to a Pancreatic Cancer Breakthrough
The New York Times May 12, 2026 Subscription
The best account of the scientific journey. Gina Kolata and Rebecca Robbins trace the pursuit of KRAS from Kevan Shokat's discovery of a druggable pocket to Gregory Verdine's molecular-glue strategy and the development of daraxonrasib.
An Oncologist Explains How Daraxonrasib Nearly Doubles Survival
The Conversation August 26, 2026 Free
Christopher Lieu, a practicing GI medical oncologist at CU Anschutz, explains how the drug sidesteps the "undruggable" problem by recruiting cyclophilin A. Rigorous but readable, and free to read.
FDA Approves Drug for Pancreatic Cancer in Milestone for Treatment of Deadly Disease
The Wall Street Journal August 26, 2026 Subscription
A strong account of the approval, the patients gaining additional time on treatment, the side-effect burden, and the four-decade effort to turn RAS into a drug target.
F.D.A. Approves Drug Poised to Transform Care for Pancreatic Cancer
The New York Times August 26, 2026 Subscription
The approval story placed in the context of pancreatic cancer care and the striking survival benefit seen in RASolute 302.
Revolution's Pancreatic Cancer Drug Wins Speedy FDA Approval
CNN August 26, 2026 Free
A free, general-audience account of the approval and why it matters, a good non-paywalled counterpart to the NYT and WSJ coverage above.
Pancreatic Cancer Success Story Stems From 'Undruggable' KRAS Target
STAT April 19, 2026 Subscription
An excellent combination of patient experience, KRAS history, drug-development context, and the growing race to develop the next generation of RAS inhibitors.
Revolution Medicines and the business story
Why the Drugmaker Behind a Pancreatic Cancer Breakthrough Stayed Independent
The Wall Street Journal August 28, 2026 Subscription
How Revolution Medicines resisted takeover interest, raised the money needed to commercialize Rasonque itself, and built manufacturing, distribution, and sales capabilities before its first approval.
Cancer Drugmaker Revolution Medicines Says Sale Is Not a Priority
Financial Times June 21, 2026 Subscription
An earlier interview with CEO Mark Goldsmith on why selling the company was not a priority, even after daraxonrasib's Phase 3 success made Revolution one of biotech's most closely watched acquisition targets.
CNBC Interview With Revolution Medicines CEO Mark Goldsmith
CNBC August 27, 2026 Free
The founder-CEO in his own words the day after approval: the case for staying independent, the launch, and where the RAS(ON) pipeline goes next. The only video in this collection.
Revolution Pancreatic Cancer Drug Should Quickly Become a Blockbuster, Analysts Say
BioPharma Dive August 27, 2026 Free
The commercial view: a $39,800 monthly list price, immediate availability, a broad label, launch preparations, and forecasts that place Rasonque among the largest potential oncology products.
Discovery and medicinal chemistry
Kevan M. Shokat, PhD: Drugging the Elusive KRAS
American Association for Cancer Research 2022 Free
A profile of the UCSF chemist whose 2013 discovery of a hidden pocket on inactive KRAS ended the "undruggable" era. Everything that followed traces back to it.
Progress Against Pancreatic Cancer, Part One
Derek Lowe, "In the Pipeline" (Science) 2026 Free
A working chemist's explanation of the tri-complex mechanism: how a Sanglifehrin A-derived small molecule recruits cyclophilin A to build a new binding surface on active RAS. The best place to understand the molecular glue.
Discovery Case Study: The Origins of Daraxonrasib
Lustgarten Foundation May 12, 2026 Free
Gregory Verdine's account of the work at Warp Drive Bio that used small molecules to recruit cyclophilin A and create a new surface capable of binding active KRAS.
Designing Drugs to Fight RAS-Driven Cancers
Chemical & Engineering News May 13, 2026 Free
A profile of Revolution Medicines chemist Jim Cregg and the team that converted the tri-complex concept into orally active clinical molecules, including daraxonrasib and elironrasib.
Daraxonrasib: The 2025 Molecule of the Year
Drug Hunter April 10, 2026 Free
An accessible medicinal-chemistry discussion of daraxonrasib's structure, properties, discovery, and noncovalent RAS(ON) tri-complex mechanism.
Discovery of Daraxonrasib, a Potent and Orally Bioavailable RAS(ON) Multi-Selective, Noncovalent Tri-Complex Inhibitor
Journal of Medicinal Chemistry 2025 Research paper
The primary medicinal-chemistry paper describing the structure-guided optimization that produced daraxonrasib from the tri-complex platform.
Translational and Therapeutic Evaluation of RAS-GTP Inhibition by RMC-6236
Cancer Discovery 2024 Research paper
The foundational preclinical and translational study showing broad activity across RAS-addicted models and reporting the first clinical responses to RMC-6236.
Clinical evidence and approval
New Drugs for Pancreatic Cancer Show Remarkable Promise for Deadly Disease
The Wall Street Journal April 21, 2026 Subscription
Places daraxonrasib alongside personalized mRNA vaccines and captures the broader sense that pancreatic cancer treatment may finally be entering a different period.
'Unprecedented' Revolution Data Point to Paradigm Shift in Pancreatic Cancer
BioPharma Dive May 31, 2026 Free
The best concise account of the complete RASolute 302 results presented at ASCO, including overall survival, progression-free survival, response, safety, and expert reaction.
Yes, Revolution Medicines' Pancreatic Cancer Data Are That Good
Endpoints News June 1, 2026 Subscription
A more analytical reading of the Phase 3 evidence and whether the enthusiasm surrounding the result is justified.
FDA Greenlights Revolution Medicines’ Pancreatic Cancer Gamechanger
Fierce Pharma August 26, 2026 Free
Trade-press coverage of the approval, notable for the regulatory hook: Rasonque cleared review roughly six months early through the FDA Commissioner’s National Priority Review Voucher pilot.
Daraxonrasib or Chemotherapy in Previously Treated Metastatic Pancreatic Cancer
The New England Journal of Medicine 2026 Research paper
The definitive report from the randomized, 500-patient RASolute 302 trial.
FDA Approves Daraxonrasib for Metastatic Pancreatic Adenocarcinoma
U.S. Food and Drug Administration August 26, 2026 Free
The exact indication and the FDA's summary of efficacy and safety. The label is not restricted to a specific RAS mutation.
Side effects and daily life
Managing Rash and Stomatitis With Daraxonrasib in Pancreatic Cancer
Oncology Nursing News September 2026 Free
The clinician's view of the defining tolerability issue. Rash affects most patients and stomatitis is common; study co-author Shubham Pant walks through prophylaxis and dose management.
FDA Approves Daraxonrasib for Pancreatic Cancer: What Patients Need To Know
Memorial Sloan Kettering August 26, 2026 Free
A patient-facing explainer of how the drug works, the side effects to expect, and the quality-of-life gain. In the trial, patients kept good quality of life about twice as long as on chemotherapy.
Cost and access
Pancreatic Cancer Drug Rasonque Costs $480,000 A Year. Is It Sustainable?
Forbes September 4, 2026 Free
A close look at the list price (about $39,800 a month, roughly $480,000 a year, more than double Keytruda) and what a 'cancer premium' means for what the health system can sustain.
A New Pancreatic Cancer Pill Lists at $39,800 a Month, and What Patients Actually Owe Varies Widely
Medical Daily September 2026 Free
The practical patient view: the list price is not the bill. What a household actually pays turns on its insurance. Copay assistance covers many commercially insured patients, while those on Medicare are often left out.
Resistance and what comes next
Daraxonrasib in KRAS-Mutant Pancreatic Cancer: A First Step in Shifting the Paradigm of Treatment
The ASCO Post June 10, 2026 Free
The most useful clinical commentary on what the trial established, what remains unresolved, the emerging resistance landscape, and the case for rational combinations.
A Breakthrough in Pancreatic Cancer Has Experts Excited and Braced for What's to Come
STAT July 13, 2026 Subscription
Looks beyond approval to treatment sequencing, first-line use, combinations, resistance, and the practical challenges created by a rapidly changing standard of care.
Acquired Resistance to the RAS(ON) Multi-Selective Inhibitor Daraxonrasib Guides Rational Combination Therapy Strategies
Nature Medicine August 11, 2026 Open access
Paired circulating-tumor-DNA analysis identifies KRAS amplification and reactivation of RAS-pathway signaling as important resistance routes, while providing a mechanistic rationale for several combination strategies.
Breaking Through Pancreatic Cancer With Revolution Medicines
Break Through Cancer July 2026 Free
A conversation between Mark Goldsmith and Tyler Jacks about paired biopsies, tumor adaptation, academic-industry collaboration, and where the field goes next.
Go deeper on TheraRadar
- KRAS: 40 Years Undruggable, Then Drugged. Then What? It traces the first generation of KRAS G12C inhibitors and the shift toward broader RAS inhibition, including daraxonrasib and zoldonrasib.
- Rasonque (daraxonrasib): the drug page, with the FDA application, approval documents, label, and linked clinical trials.
- Revolution Medicines: the company page, with the full RAS(ON) pipeline, approvals, and trial activity.
This page will be updated as substantial new reporting and scientific work appear.
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