Generic name: rituximab, rituximab-arrx, rituximab-pvvr, rituximab-abbs
Brand names: Rituxan, Riabni, Ruxience, Truxima
Dosage form: intravenous (infusion) injection
Drug classes:Antirheumatics, CD20 monoclonal antibodies
What is rituximab?
Rituximab is a cancer drug that has revolutionized the treatment of non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL). It was first approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 1997.
Rituximab is a biological drug called a monoclonal antibody. It works by targeting a protein called CD20, which is found on a type of white blood cell called B cells. NHL and other conditions can affect B cells. It's not clear exactly how rituximab works, but it's known to recruit a patient's own immune system to attack and kill B cells.
Rituximab is available as Rituxan, the original version of rituximab. Biosimilars of rituximab are also available. Biosimilar versions of rituximab are highly similar to Rituxan and are designed to have the same effect on a person, but the biosimilars are not identical. Biosimilars of rituximab include:
- Riabni (rituximab-arrx) approved in 2020
- Ruxience (rituximab-pvvr) approved in 2019
- Truxima (rituximab-abbs) approved in 2018
What is rituximab used for?
The Rituxan brand of rituximab is a prescription medicine used to treat:
- Adults with NHL: alone or with other chemotherapy medicines.
- Children 6 months of age and older with mature B-cell NHL and mature B-cell acute leukemia (B-AL): in combination with chemotherapy medicines.
- Adults with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL): with the chemotherapy medicines fludarabine and cyclophosphamide.
- Adults with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA): with another prescription medicine called methotrexate, to reduce the signs and symptoms of moderate to severe active RA in adults, after treatment wi...
