New targeted therapies, like daraxonrasib (Rasonque), have changed the treatment outlook in pancreatic cancer.
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“Daraxonrasib blocks growth signals from active RAS proteins. Mutations in KRAS, part of that protein family, drive most pancreatic cancers,” says Kasi.RAS proteins signal cells to grow and multiply. These proteins have a natural on and off switch, so growth doesn’t get out of control. But KRAS mutations jam that switch, so it stays on longer and allows cancer growth.
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Daraxonrasib turns off that switch, says Glover.
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“Now the mutation can no longer drive the cancer to keep growing.”“Scientists struggled for decades to develop drugs that could block those signals,” says Kasi. In one study comparing daraxonrasib to chemotherapy, survival on the targeted therapy averaged 13.2 months, compared with 6.7 months on chemotherapy.
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“The [U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)] approved this daily pill in August 2026,” says Kasi.[6]
Side effects with daraxonrasib can include:
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- Mouth sores
- Rash
- Diarrhea
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Fatigue
- Abdominal pain
- Swelling
- Poor appetite
- Unusual bleeding
Although daraxonrasib is the newest KRAS inhibitor on the scene, two others are also available: sotorasib (Lumakras) and adagrasib (Krazati).
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These medications work similarly to daraxonrasib and have similar side effects. Your provider may need to monitor your liver and kidney function while taking targeted therapy.[9]
A few other RAS inhibitors are in the research phase. Researchers are also studying other methods to block the RAS “on” switch.
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“Although daraxonrasib and this class of RAS inhibitors is a breakthrough, they are still not curative, and resistance develops to this drug over time,” says Dr. Khorana. “Newer drugs in testing currently will hopefully overcome these resistance mechanisms.”
