Breakthrough in Pancreatic Cancer Tests the Value of Federal Science Funding

A new drug called daraxonrasib nearly doubles survival for pancreatic cancer patients after initial chemotherapy, marking a significant KRAS-targeted therapy advance and offering hope that this previously “undruggable” cancer can be managed longer. But the piece stresses that decades of federally funded basic science underpinned the discovery and development, and warns that Trump-era efforts to cut or politicize science funding threaten future breakthroughs by weakening the research ecosystem—even as Congress and the courts push back against some funding cuts.