The first patients in Greece have begun receiving a pancreatic cancer drug that doubled median survival time in clinical trials, and they are getting it for free through the national health system. Greek Health Minister Adonis Georgiadis confirmed the rollout this week, placing Greece among the first countries outside the United States to distribute RASONQUE before European Commission authorization concludes.
The treatment, known scientifically as daraxonrasib, secured FDA approval on August 26, 2026. It targets a mutation that appears in over 90 percent of pancreatic cancers. Researchers spent four decades attempting to block this target, called the KRAS gene, before Revolution Medicines achieved the breakthrough.
In a Phase 3 trial involving 500 patients, the drug extended median survival to 13.2 months compared with 6.7 months for standard chemotherapy. That translates to a 60 percent reduction in death risk. At one year, 53.2 percent of patients taking daraxonrasib remained alive, versus 17.3 percent in the chemotherapy group.
The scientific leap came from attacking the protein in its active state rather than its inactive form. Previous KRAS inhibitors only worked against one specific mutation common in lung cancer but rare in pancreatic tumors. Meanwhile, daraxonrasib forms a complex inside cells that blocks the active protein across multiple mutation types simultaneously.
Greece achieved early access through EOPYY, its national health organization. Oncologists submit patient files electronically for review by an independent panel. Upon approval, the Institute of Pharmaceutical Research and Technology procures the medication and delivers it to treating physicians. Greek authorities had already approved roughly ten patient applications by the time Georgiadis made his announcement.
The European Medicines Agency recommended EU authorization on October 15, but formal Commission ratification remains pending. As a result, Greece’s early-access mechanism filled the regulatory gap. The US wholesale cost runs $39,800 monthly at recommended dosing.
Researchers expect approval scope to expand. The FDA granted Breakthrough Therapy designation in September 2026 for first-line use in combination with chemotherapy. Trials also continue in lung and colorectal cancers. The approval demonstrates that so-called undruggable proteins can yield to the right approach, opening doors for other historically resistant targets.
