American health authorities announced on Wednesday August 26 that they had approved a promising treatment for pancreatic cancer, opening a new era in the treatment of one of the deadliest cancers.
Although it is not a cure, this drug called Rasonque arouses enthusiasm among oncologists and patient associations because it will extend the lifespan of patients.
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Developed by the American start-up Revolution Medicines, this treatment can be taken in tablets by patients suffering from an aggressive but common form of pancreatic cancer. However, they will have to meet several criteria, such as having already received previous treatment, specified the American Medicines Agency (FDA).
Much more effective than traditional chemotherapy
This authorization “constitutes the most significant progress we have ever known in the fight against pancreatic cancer,” welcomed Anna Berkenblit, scientific director of PanCAN, an American organization entirely dedicated to the fight against pancreatic cancer.
“This medicine will transform the way we treat pancreatic cancer: it will offer patients the opportunity to spend more time with their loved ones, have a better quality of life and regain confidence that continued research will bring even greater advances,” she continued in a press release.
Using a molecule called daraxonrasib, this treatment showed itself during its clinical trial to be much more effective than traditional chemotherapy in patients whose cancer had already metastasized. Half of the patients who took it survived more than 13 months, twice as long as the group receiving chemotherapy.
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Presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (Asco) in Chicago in June, these results were widely applauded by researchers and doctors around the world.
The pancreas, the sixth cause of cancer death
After several decades of stagnation, this treatment constitutes a notable advance in the fight against pancreatic cancer, which constitutes the sixth cause of cancer death worldwide, according to the UN, after nearly 470,000 deaths recorded in 2022 and a very low 5-year survival rate.
The treatment, which has benefited from an accelerated review process, is now available in the United States for a list price of $39,800 (34,156 euros) per 30-day treatment, Revolution Medicines said at a conference.
The amount patients will have to pay out-of-pocket could vary considerably, with the company emphasizing that some eligible patients could benefit from 100% coverage, while others would have an out-of-pocket cost of several hundred or thousands of dollars.
“We believe this price reflects the unprecedented overall survival benefit and broader clinical value,” said Anthony Mancini, who is in charge of marketing the drug. The latter is also under review by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), he said.
The authorization of this new drug could also contribute to the development of treatments for other diseases, because the molecule used acts against a protein called RAS which encourages uncontrolled cell division and is involved in several cancers, and against which we were unable to act until very recently.
With AFP
