Pancreatic cancer is notoriously hard to treat, partly because most cases are driven by a mutated protein called KRAS-G12D. Previous drugs targeting this mutation struggled with side effects and poor tumor penetration. HRS-4642 is a new intravenous drug packaged in nanoparticles designed to accumulate more effectively in tumors. In a phase 1b/2 trial of 31 patients with advanced KRAS-G12D-mutant pancreatic cancer, combining HRS-4642 with standard chemotherapy produced a confirmed tumor response rate of 63.3% in treatment-naive patients — a striking result for a cancer where standard chemotherapy alone typically achieves around 23–35%. Serious side effects occurred in most patients but were manageable, and no one stopped treatment or died due to drug toxicity.
