KRAS, an oncogene that is mutated in around 20% of tumours, is a major cancer conundrum. For decades, researchers thought that it was too smooth to drug, until a team found
a hidden toehold on one form of the protein. Now two KRAS inhibitors, Amgen’s sotorasib (Lumakras) and BMS/Mirati’s adagrasib (Krazati), are approved — and
many more are in the clinic. But while clinicians had high hopes that these agents would be transformative for patients, these drugs have so far had modest activity and challenging toxicity profiles. For Alice Shaw, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute’s Chief of Strategic Partnerships, the best is however yet to come.
