FDA Fast-Tracks Approval on New Treatment Trials

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) launched a pilot program in October, allowing certain promising drugs and treatments the chance to get much faster approval.

The first products to get the new vouchers include proposed treatments for infertility, Type I diabetes, nicotine vaping addiction, deafness, blindness, porphyria (a blood disorder) and pancreatic cancer.

According to the FDA, the program is aimed at products that can “address a major national priority,” like unmet medical needs or a public health crisis, or help boost domestic manufacturing or lower prices.

New hope for pancreatic cancer patients?

Among the products receiving the new vouchers is the experimental pancreatic cancer drug daraxonrasib (also known as RMC-6236), which is generating a lot of excitement.

Revolution Medicines, the clinical oncology company developing the treatment, said a preliminary trial showed daraxonrasib halted tumor growth for more than 90% of the test group, and that tumors shrank in at least 29%.

Pancreatic cancer was the third-leading cause of cancer-related deaths in the U.S. in 2025, with a five-year survival rate of just 13.3%. This new pilot program may be good news for those urgently seeking an effective weapon against it.

At the same time, a Washington Post report cited concerns about whether the fast-tracking might put some ineffective drugs onto the market, noting that the new FDA program doesn’t have detailed guidelines on how approval is being streamlined.

The FDA has shortened the approval process for cancer drugs many times before, but the results have been mixed.

A 2024 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association reported that out of drugs receiving accelerated approval during 2013-17, as many as 41% didn’t improve “overall survival or quality of life” after more than five years of follow-up.

Keeping cancer treatments affordable

Unfortunately, some cutting-edge cancer medicines can be very expensive. A ValuePenguin study found the cost of stage 4 breast cancer treatment can top $130,000.

Finding the best health insurance for cancer patients can go a long way in cutting your out-of-pocket costs. Some policies might also be better than others in getting access to specialists or helping you if you need to travel to get care, so be sure to shop around.