Revolution Medicines Receives FDA Approval for Daraxonrasib

CA, UNITED STATES, October 29, 2026 /CourierPR/ -- Revolution Medicines, a company co-founded by Kevan M. Shokat, PhD, has seen its efforts bear fruit with the FDA approval of daraxonrasib (Rasonque), a drug that traces its scientific roots to Shokat’s groundbreaking research. Shokat, who has been named the 2026 Stephenson Global Prize Laureate, received $1 million for his pioneering contributions to pancreatic cancer research. His discoveries helped transform decades of scientific thinking about KRAS, one of cancer’s most important and historically difficult-to-target drivers, and ushered in a new generation of RAS-targeted therapies.

Shokat’s breakthrough came in 2013 when he discovered a previously hidden pocket on the surface of the mutated RAS protein, proving for the first time that a target long dismissed as “undruggable” could in fact be bound and disabled by a small molecule. This discovery motivated Revolution Medicines, the company Shokat co-founded, and its RAS(ON) platform, which was ultimately engineered into daraxonrasib. The drug is the first broad RAS-targeted medicine approved for metastatic pancreatic cancer and a major milestone in a scientific journey that once seemed impossible.

In the pivotal clinical trial supporting its approval, daraxonrasib improved median overall survival to 13.2 months compared with 6.7 months with standard chemotherapy, providing a new treatment option for patients with one of the most difficult-to-treat cancers. KRAS mutations drive more than 90% of pancreatic cancers, yet for decades the protein was considered elusive. Shokat’s work reinvigorated efforts to develop drugs against RAS-driven cancers and has contributed to extraordinary momentum in the pursuit of therapies for RAS-driven cancers.

Shokat’s contributions have also been recognized by the broader cancer research community. In 2023, he was elected a Fellow of the AACR Academy (FAACR) in recognition of his revolutionary discoveries in chemical genetics, including pioneering work to develop covalent inhibitors capable of therapeutically targeting KRAS G12C.

The Stephenson Global Prize, a $1 million award presented to visionary scientific leaders whose body of work has fundamentally changed the trajectory of pancreatic cancer research, was established through a $150 million gift from philanthropists A. Emmet Stephenson Jr. and Tessa Stephenson Brand, in partnership with City of Hope. The prize is named after the Stephenson Global Pancreatic Cancer Research Institute (SGPCRI), which is dedicated to transforming the future of pancreatic cancer research through innovation, global collaboration, and strategic funding.

Shokat is the second recipient of the Stephenson Global Prize, following Frank McCormick, PhD, FRS, FAACR, the inaugural 2025 laureate. Together, these first two laureates tell an extraordinary story of scientific progress. McCormick’s work helped establish KRAS as a central driver of cancer, and he encouraged Shokat to tackle the longstanding challenge of directly targeting the protein. Shokat was selected from a distinguished pool of nominees put forward by leading cancer centers and research institutions worldwide, with the expert recommendation guided by SGPCRI’s Scientific Advisory Board.

Despite being the third leading cause of cancer-related death in the U.S. and carrying a five-year survival rate of just 13%, pancreatic cancer has long received disproportionately low levels of federal research funding relative to its mortality burden. With federal support for cancer research facing continued uncertainty, philanthropic investment has become an essential engine for the high-risk, high-reward science needed to change outcomes for patients.