Rituximab

Rituximab, sold under the trade names Rituxan and MabThera, is a chimeric monoclonal antibody against the protein CD20, which is primarily found on the surface of B cells. Rituximab is used in the treatment of many lymphomas, leukemias, and some autoimmune disorders. Rituximab was developed by IDEC Pharmaceuticals (formed in 1986 by biotech pioneers Ivor Royston and Howard Birndorf). Based on its safety and effectiveness in clinical trials, ritux... more

Rituximab, sold under the trade names Rituxan and MabThera, is a chimeric monoclonal antibody against the protein CD20, which is primarily found on the surface of B cells. Rituximab is used in the treatment of many lymphomas, leukemias, and some autoimmune disorders. Rituximab was developed by IDEC Pharmaceuticals (formed in 1986 by biotech pioneers Ivor Royston and Howard Birndorf). Based on its safety and effectiveness in clinical trials, rituximab was approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in 1997 for B cell non-Hodgkin lymphoma resistant to other chemotherapy regimens. Rituximab, in combination with CHOP chemotherapy, is now standard therapy in the initial treatment of diffuse large B cell lymphoma and many other B cell lymphomas. It is currently co-marketed by Biogen Idec and Genentech in the U.S. and by Roche in Canada and the European Union. Rituximab destroys both normal and malignant B cells that have CD20 on their surfaces, and is therefore used to treat diseases... less