FDA approves Revolution Medicines' pancreatic cancer pill

Pancreatic cancer kills fast, and doctors have had almost nothing that touches its root cause. On Wednesday, the FDA approved daraxonrasib, sold as Rasonque. It's the first drug built to block the RAS gene mutations driving roughly 90% of cases. Revolution Medicines makes it. Patients take it as a daily pill. In a large trial, it roughly doubled survival for people who'd already tried chemo.

RAS mutations were considered nearly impossible to drug for decades. Revolution Medicines found a way to block them anyway, using a pill patients take daily. Pancreatic cancer usually isn't caught until it has already spread, and survival rates have stayed brutally low for years. The approval only covers patients who've already tried a first treatment like chemotherapy. It's a backup option for now, not a replacement for existing care.

Keep reading — what to watch

Will Revolution Medicines push for approval as a first treatment, not just a backup? That trial is the obvious next step, and newly diagnosed patients are the bigger prize. Also worth watching: whether insurers cover a first-of-its-kind pill quickly, or make patients try cheaper options first.