Daraxonrasib shrinks tumours in 30% of lung cancer trial participants

September 2, 2026 at 05:00 AM1 min

This digest was compiled by AI from multiple sources — links to the originals are below.

Daraxonrasib shrank tumours in more than 30% of participants with non-small cell lung cancer in a small clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The drug, approved for advanced pancreatic cancer a week earlier, targets RAS-family mutations. A larger randomized trial comparing daraxonrasib with standard chemotherapy is underway.

Key Facts

Tumours shrank in more than 30% of participants with non-small cell lung cancer in the daraxonrasib trial.
The study was published in the New England Journal of Medicine on 2 September 2026.
Daraxonrasib nearly doubled average survival time to 13.2 months in a 500-person pancreatic cancer trial, versus 6.7 months for standard chemotherapy.
A larger randomized trial comparing daraxonrasib with standard chemotherapy for non-small cell lung cancer is underway.

Lung Cancer Trial Results

The trial enrolled participants with non-small cell lung cancer, each carrying a tumour-promoting mutation in a RAS-family protein and previously treated with other therapies. More than 30% of participants experienced tumour shrinkage, according to results published in the New England Journal of Medicine. Kathryn Arbour, a thoracic oncologist at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and study author, called the results 'incredibly promising'. Some participants' tumours began to grow again after initially responding, and researchers are only beginning to understand resistance mechanisms.

Mechanism and Pancreatic Cancer Data

Daraxonrasib, developed by Revolution Medicines in Redwood City, California, acts as a 'molecular glue' binding to cyclophilin A and then to normal and mutant RAS proteins. In a previous trial of 500 people with advanced pancreatic cancer, daraxonrasib nearly doubled average survival time to 13.2 months compared with 6.7 months for standard chemotherapy. The drug received landmark US approval for advanced pancreatic cancer one week before the lung cancer results were published.