STAT+: Pharmalittle: We’re reading about pancreatic and lung cancer drugs, China biotech growth, and more
Get the Health newsletter
Daily health & science — research, biotech, public health, the studies worth knowing. Free.
- Revolution Medicines reported that daraxonrasib extended median overall survival to 13.2 months in advanced pancreatic cancer patients, versus 6.7 months with standard chemotherapy.
- Daraxonrasib lowered the risk of death by 60% compared with chemotherapy in the same second‑line trial.
- U.S. FDA granted an early‑access program, allowing physicians to prescribe daraxonrasib before full approval.
- ASCO featured a China‑only clinical trial as a headliner for the first time, highlighting the country's burgeoning biotech sector.
- New York Times described China's biotech industry as a fast‑growing "juggernaut" that could challenge U.S. drug development.
Why it matters: Patients with advanced pancreatic cancer gain a therapy that more than doubles survival, while U.S. biotech faces heightened competition from rapidly scaling Chinese rivals, shifting investment and market share.
