FDA approves landmark pancreatic cancer drug that’s shown to improve survival

WASHINGTON (AP) – The Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved a groundbreaking new drug for advanced pancreatic cancer, offering U.S.

Key points

• The daily pills will be sold by Revolution Medicines under the brand name Rasonque.
• The company-funded study enrolled 500 patients whose metastatic, or spreading, cancer had quit responding to prior treatment.
• FDA authorities provided expedited approval to the first-of-a-kind pill, called daraxonrasib.

What happened

FDA authorities provided expedited approval to the first-of-a-kind pill, called daraxonrasib. It blocks a mutated protein that fuels tumor expansion in more than 90% of pancreatic cancer cases. It's an approach that previously eluded drugmakers for decades.

Meanwhile, the daily pills will be sold by Revolution Medicines under the brand name Rasonque. A one-month supply would cost approximately $39, 800, the firm unveiled.

Patients taking the drug almost doubled their survival time, with fewer severe side effects, in a study that randomly assigned them to receive the experimental treatment or more chemotherapy. The company-funded study enrolled 500 patients whose metastatic, or spreading, cancer had quit responding to prior treatment.

The bottom line

In short, FDA approves landmark pancreatic cancer drug that's shown to improve survival is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.