Revolution Medicines is the winner of the 2026 Gizmodo Science Fair for its research and development of Rasonque (daraxonrasib), the first approved cancer drug of its kind.
The question
Can we find an effective and reliable treatment for pancreatic cancer, which currently only has a five-year survival rate of 13%?
The results
In a large clinical trial of 500 people with metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (the most common form of pancreatic cancer), people on daraxonrasib lived twice as long as those on standard chemotherapy: 13.2 months median survival versus 6.7 months. The treatment group also lived longer without progression of their cancer, and the drug was relatively well tolerated, with only about 1% stopping it.
In late August, the Food and Drug Administration approved Rasonque for people with pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma who have tried at least one prior systemic therapy or who are not candidates for multiagent systemic therapy.
Why they did it
RevMed began in 2014 as a natural products chemistry company focused on finding new treatments for infections, according to Jan Smith, RevMed’s chief scientific officer. However, after its initial efforts failed, the company made the pivotal decision to move into oncology, Smith said, “recognizing that cancer represented one of the most significant opportunities to make a difference for patients.”
As with many scientific discoveries, RevMed researchers did not deliberately set out to develop drugs like daraxonrasib. They began work on a drug candidate designed to inhibit SHP2, an enzyme that transmits growth signals from outside a cancer cell to a pathway inside the cell governed by RAS, a family of proteins that many in the field considered impossible to target directly with drugs. To their surprise, their candidate could actually shrink tumors fueled by RAS mutations, which was not supposed to happen.
“This observation led us to realize that we had ‘a tiger by the tail’ and that we needed to go after RAS itself,” Smith said. “Although RAS is the first human cancer genetic driver ever discovered, cancers driven by RAS have defied targeted therapeutic approaches for decades, making RAS truly the Holy Grail target of oncology. »
Specifically, daraxonrasib is the first drug approved in a class of drugs called RAS(ON) inhibitors. RAS acts as a sort of switch for cell growth, and cancer-fueling RAS mutations force the protein to stay stuck in its active “ON” state, leading to further growth. Daraxonrasib and similar agents bind to mutant RAS proteins left in this state and block their activity.
“These inhibitors harness a naturally occurring protein in cells to create a complex with a precisely engineered large surface area that establishes a molecular foothold on the smooth, featureless surface of RAS (ON), thereby enabling direct inhibition of RAS in its oncogenic state,” Smith explained.
Why they are winners
It’s hard to overstate how earth-shattering RevMed’s breakthrough is. Scientists have made great strides in treating many types of cancer, with the notable exception of pancreatic cancer. We are even less equipped to treat metastatic pancreatic cancer, whose five-year survival rate is currently 3%.
However, the vast majority of pancreatic cancers, approximately 90%, are driven by RAS mutations. And while daraxonrasib is not the first approved drug that targets RAS, it is the first to address a broad range of RAS mutations, which should allow it to target a large portion of that 90%. Currently, the drug is only for cases that have not responded to other treatments, but RevMed has already launched a phase III trial testing it as a first-line drug for metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma.
To be clear, daraxonrasib is not a cure. Some people don’t respond to the medication at first, and even when they do, their cancer can often adapt to the treatment over time and find ways to continue growing. But daraxonrasib will give doctors and patients the first real chance to fight pancreatic cancer, and it’s likely just the beginning of a new era.
What’s next
RevMed has eight Phase III trials that it has completed, is actively conducting, or plans to launch by the end of 2026, and its investigators are working to deepen their pipeline. Although daraxonrasib is a broad-based inhibitor, the company is also developing other candidates that more narrowly target specific RAS mutations.
“We are advancing both multi-selective and mutant approaches to explore potential new treatment options for RAS-driven cancers,” Smith said. Down the road, the company hopes to develop drugs that can counteract cancer resistance to RAS-targeted therapies.
Notably, pancreatic cancer is not the only type often caused by RAS mutations; up to 50% of colorectal cancers involve these mutations, as do about a third of lung adenocarcinomas. Several trials the company is conducting are testing drugs against non-small cell lung cancers as well as solid tumors associated with RAS.
The team
It took a lot of resources and teamwork for RevMed to reach the top of the mountain. A key aspect of its success was the acquisition of Warp Drive Bio in 2018, which pioneered the tri-complex inhibitor platform that ultimately made daraxonrasib a reality.
“This research required collaboration across multiple disciplines and organizations. Our in-house team has deep expertise in chemical biology, cancer biology, structure-based and computer-aided drug discovery, medicinal chemistry, pharmacology, translational research and clinical oncology,” Smith said.
And of course, none of this would be possible without the many cancer patients who donated their time and their bodies. To date, the company has treated more than 2,500 people with one or more of its RAS(ON) inhibitors. And thanks to them, the approximately 67,000 Americans diagnosed with pancreatic cancer each year now have more hope than ever.
Click here to see all the 2026 Gizmodo Science Fair winners.
Gn Health
