\u201cThis is the first drug in a whole class of drugs that are being developed now that target a mutation in pancreas cancer called RAS,\u201d Dr. Jennifer Knox, medical director of the pancreatic cancer clinic at Princess Margaret Cancer Centre in Toronto, told CTV Your Morning on Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, it is easily the biggest breakthrough ever in pancreas cancer,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n
Knox said regulatory bodies need to review the safety of the treatment first. <\/p>\n
\u201cIt isn\u2019t Health Canda saying \u2018no,\u2019 it\u2019s Health Canada hasn\u2019t been asked to look at it yet, which is unfortunately what happens in drug development,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Knox had told The Canadian Press in early June that she hopes to start a clinical trial of daraxonrasib and other related drugs at her centre.<\/p>\n
![\"Chemotherapy](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/BOGKLNNRKNACTF23APCH5YUYLQ.jpg\")
Cancer chemotherapy treatment Chemotherapy is administered to a cancer patient via intravenous drip at Duke Cancer Center in Durham, N.C., on Sept. 5, 2013. (The Canadian Press \/ AP-Gerry Broome) U.S. reviewing new drug<\/p>\n
Knox said the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently reviewing daraxonrasib before the manufacturer can apply for approval in Canada.<\/p>\n
\u201cEspecially if the drug is developed in the U.S. or you can imagine other countries as well, they\u2019re going to prioritize their own country first,\u201d Knox said, adding that this is typical with new discoveries. <\/p>\n
Last month, the manufacturer Revolution Medicines told The Canadian Press<\/a> that it is first applying to the FDA to license the drug and is \u201cactively preparing regulatory submissions globally,\u201d though it didn\u2019t mention specific countries.<\/p>\n The U.S. study, published in The New England Journal of Medicine<\/a>, found that those who took the daily pill survived for more than a year compared to around six months for patients who had chemotherapy alone.<\/p>\n The study involved 500 patients who were previously treated for metastatic pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma, the most common type of pancreatic cancer. <\/p>\n Pancreatic cancer is not frequently diagnosed in Canada<\/a>, but it\u2019s expected to be the third-leading cause of cancer-related death in 2026, according to the Canadian Cancer Society.<\/p>\n The charity estimated that 7,500 people in the country will be diagnosed with pancreatic cancer this year, and 6,500 will die from it. <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/2RF6L455HVFQLMFW4MUM2JFY6A.jpg\")
Why don’t Canadians have access to a groundbreaking new pancreatic cancer drug? The Canadian Cancer Society predicts that pancreatic cancer will be the third-leading cause of cancer-related death in 2026, estimating that 6,500 will die from it. (File photo) How many Canadians are affected?<\/p>\n