Rasonque, Revolution's pancreatic cancer drug, sees major launch

Adam Feuerstein is a senior writer and biotech columnist, reporting on the crossroads of drug development, business, Wall Street, and biotechnology. He is also a co-host of the weekly biotech podcast The Readout Loud and author of the newsletter Adam’s Biotech Scorecard. You can reach Adam on Signal at stataf.54.

The commercial debut of Revolution Medicines’ pancreatic cancer drug Rasonque was eye-popping and jaw-dropping: $198 million in sales in just five weeks following the U.S. approval of the groundbreaking pan-RAS inhibitor. More than 5,000 patients have already been treated with the drug, the company said Wednesday evening.

“The U.S. launch of Rasonque is off to a strong start,” said Revolution Chief Commercial Officer Anthony Mancini, on the company’s earnings call — perhaps the understatement of the year in commercial biotech.

Rasonque’s sales performance was nearly double even the most bullish investor estimates heading into the company’s third-quarter earnings announcement. It might be too early to call Rasonque the best cancer drug launch in history, but it’s certainly close, and investors are now re-evaluating their forecasts for what lies ahead.

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