Baillie Gifford is an Edinburgh investment partnership founded in 1908, famous for ultra-long-horizon, high-conviction growth investing — its early stakes in Amazon, Tesla and NIO are classics. Its "actual investors" philosophy holds world-changing companies on 5-10 year views; AUM is around $120bn. The Insights column carries its managers' investment views and thematic research.
This article is about Revolution Medicines, a biotech firm targeting a protein called RAS, which drives many cancers (like pancreatic cancer). Unlike older drugs that only work on 'sleeping' RAS, its new drug hits 'active' RAS, covering more cancer types. In trials, patients lived over 6 months longer on average, with fewer side effects than chemo. For regular investors, this could be a huge opportunity if the drug succeeds, but it's risky: it's not yet approved, and competition or execution bumps could derail it. Worth reading because it tackles a long-standing cancer problem, but don't bet the farm yet.
In a nutshell: The author is highly optimistic about RevMed's RAS-targeting drug daraxonrasib [Optimistic], believing it has the potential to solve one of oncology's oldest challenges and achieve significant survival benefits in pancreatic cancer.
| Ticker | Direction | Author's Attitude in One Sentence | Key Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| RevMed (daraxonrasib) | Not explicitly stated (bullish/hold) | Believes the drug has the potential to become the standard of care for pancreatic cancer and expand to other RAS-mutant tumor types, with peak sales potentially exceeding $100 billion | Median overall survival 13.2 months vs 6.7 months; risk of death reduced by 60%; discontinuation rate 1.2% vs 11.2% |
RevMed is trying to solve one of oncology's oldest problems: targeting the RAS protein family. RAS is a signaling protein that, when mutated, drives about one-third of human cancers. For a long time, RAS was considered "undruggable," and scientists described it as a "greasy ball" — smooth on the surface and lacking obvious grooves for small molecules to bind. The author's original words: "RevMed is trying to solve one of oncology's oldest problems: how to target rat sarcoma (RAS)." The most urgent testing ground is pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), where approximately 90% of PDAC tumors are driven by RAS, and the five-year survival rate for metastatic PDAC is only about 3%. The report argues that if the company achieves a meaningful improvement here, it is tackling a real clinical problem.
The key lies in RevMed's targeting mechanism: inhibiting RAS when it is in the "on" state, i.e., actively driving cancer growth. Its lead drug, daraxonrasib, showed results from the Phase III RASolute 302 trial: in previously treated metastatic pancreatic cancer, the daraxonrasib arm had a median overall survival of 13.2 months versus 6.7 months in the chemotherapy arm, representing a 60% reduction in the risk of death during the study period. The author emphasizes that "daraxonrasib doubled median overall survival." The rate of discontinuation due to treatment-related adverse events was very low: 1.2% in the daraxonrasib arm versus 11.2% in the chemotherapy arm. These data received a standing ovation at the ASCO conference. The key comparison table is below:
| Metric | Daraxonrasib Arm | Chemotherapy Arm |
|---|---|---|
| Median overall survival | 13.2 months | 6.7 months |
| Risk reduction in death | 60% | – |
| Discontinuation due to adverse events | 1.2% | 11.2% |
RevMed has chosen to advance commercialization independently rather than through early partnerships, and has amassed sufficient capital for this purpose. The report notes that most biotech companies pursue early partnerships due to a lack of options, but RevMed deliberately retained control, arguing that the complexity of RAS biology is not suited to committee oversight. Its financing allows it to run multiple late-stage trials and prepare for a launch. The company is building a large-scale commercial team ahead of regulatory approval, and this shift from a research-driven to a commercial-driven organization is exactly what investors want to see. If its core asset, daraxonrasib, becomes the standard of care in pancreatic cancer and expands to other RAS-mutant tumor types, future annual sales could exceed $10 billion.
The core bet is that RevMed may have found a repeatable way to attack one of cancer's most important drivers — not just in a single tumor type in a single setting. Institutional bias: Baillie Gifford itself is a long-term holder that is overweight biotech, and its optimistic assessment of asymmetric returns inherently reflects a favorable view of its holdings.