Rep. Sewell praises FDA approval of breakthrough pancreatic cancer drug
Clinical trials found the medication nearly doubled median survival for patients facing one of the deadliest cancers.
U.S. Representative Terri Sewell, D-Alabama, on Thursday celebrated the Food and Drug Administration’s approval of a new drug to treat pancreatic cancer.
Daraxonrasib, which patients take as a pill twice a day, is a first-in-class drug that has been found to significantly extend the lives of pancreatic cancer patients. The drug received FDA approval Wednesday under the brand name Rasonque.
Sewell, who lost her mother, Nancy Gardner Sewell, to pancreatic cancer in 2021, praised the approval in a statement Thursday.
“This is incredible news,” Sewell said. “No family in America has been spared the scourge of cancer, including my own. Having lost my mother, the late Nancy Gardner Sewell, to pancreatic cancer, I know firsthand the heartbreak and devastation this disease can bring to a family. That is why I am overjoyed to join millions of Americans in celebrating this historic victory which will help revolutionize the way we treat pancreatic cancer.”
“The FDA’s approval of daraxonrasib offers new hope to pancreatic cancer patients and their loved ones, and represents a remarkable step forward in our fight against one of the deadliest forms of cancer,” Sewell added. “Breakthroughs like this one highlight why we must continue investing in lifesaving research—so that one day we will not only be able to treat pancreatic cancer, but cure it!”
Sewell’s office noted that pancreatic cancer is among the deadliest major cancers, with a five-year survival rate below 20 percent.
In clinical trials, patients who received Rasonque lived a median of 13 months, compared with less than seven months for patients who received chemotherapy alone.
“Today’s approval provides a critical new option for patients facing an extraordinarily difficult and historically hard-to-treat cancer. It is our fundamental duty to deliver more cures and meaningful treatments to patients as quickly as possible,” Acting FDA Commissioner Kyle Diamantas said Wednesday. “I am immensely proud of the dedicated FDA scientists whose fast, thorough review and relentless commitment made this groundbreaking milestone a reality.”
The FDA approval comes six months after the enactment of the Nancy Gardner Sewell Multi-Cancer Early Detection Act, a bipartisan law intended to ensure seniors on Medicare can access the latest cancer screening tests through their coverage.
The legislation, sponsored by Sewell and U.S. Representative Jody Arrington, R-Texas, was cosponsored by 339 House members and 68 senators.
President Donald Trump signed the legislation into law February 3.
