Turn on cookies to sign in
Signing in saves your progress to your Curie account. We can only do that with cookies on — turn them on to continue.
A phase 3 trial shows divarasib outperforms existing KRAS inhibitors in advanced lung cancer. The investigational drug cut the risk of progression or death by 42% and extended overall survival by nearly 6 months compared to sotorasib and adagrasib in previously treated KRAS G12C–mutated NSCLC. Experts say it's poised to become the new standard of care.
A next-generation KRAS inhibitor is rewriting the playbook for advanced lung cancer treatment. The phase 3 Krascendo 1 trial found that divarasib — an investigational oral KRAS G12C inhibitor — significantly outperformed the two currently approved KRAS inhibitors, sotorasib and adagrasib, in patients with previously treated, locally advanced or metastatic KRAS G12C–mutated non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Results were presented at the 2026 ESMO Congress and simultaneously published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Unlike its predecessors, divarasib demonstrated a clear overall survival benefit — something neither sotorasib nor adagrasib had achieved over docetaxel. Lead investigator Dr. Ferdinandos Skoulidis of MD Anderson Cancer Center called divarasib "a new standard of care" for this patient population. The safety profile was generally favorable, though GI side effects — particularly diarrhea — were more common with divarasib.
By the Numbers:
Why it matters: KRAS G12C is the most common KRAS mutation in NSCLC, affecting up to 14% of patients with nonsquamous disease. With divarasib now showing a meaningful survival advantage in a head-to-head trial, it could soon replace sotorasib and adagrasib as the go-to second-line targeted therapy — and researchers are already eyeing its potential in first-line treatment.
