# Rituximab

Source: https://nuclide.cc/drugs/rituximab/  
Nuclide record `rituximab` (Agent). Data CC BY-NC 4.0, attribute "Data from Nuclide (nuclide.cc)"; commercial use needs a licence.

## TL;DR

Rituximab was the first antibody ever approved for cancer (1997). It made chemoimmunotherapy the CLL standard for a decade, and biosimilars keep it cheap and everywhere.

## Summary

Approved in follicular lymphoma (1997), DLBCL (2006, R-CHOP), CLL (2010, with fludarabine-cyclophosphamide: FCR, the first regimen to show OS benefit in CLL). Superseded in CLL by targeted agents (CLL13, CLL14, ELEVATE-TN) but still used with venetoclax in relapse (MURANO: venetoclax-rituximab 24 months) and in resource-limited settings. Biosimilars (Truxima, Ruxience, Riabni) since 2018.

## Fields

- Kind: Agent
- Status: approved
- Last checked: 2026-09-07
- Also known as: Rituximab and Hyaluronidase Human; Rituxan Hycela
- Brand: Rituxan / MabThera (and biosimilars)
- Modality: Monoclonal antibody (anti-CD20, chimeric)
- Mechanism: Chimeric type I anti-CD20 IgG1: CDC, ADCC, and modest direct signalling.
- Approvals: US 1997: Relapsed follicular lymphoma; first antibody approved for cancer; US 2010: CLL with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide
- Dosing: IV or subcutaneous (Rituxan Hycela); CLL: 375 mg/m² cycle 1 then 500 mg/m² cycles 2-6 with chemotherapy or venetoclax

## Sources

- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rituximab
- FDA label (DailyMed): https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/search.cfm?query=Rituximab

## Connected records

- indications: [Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma](https://nuclide.cc/indications/dlbcl/), [Follicular lymphoma](https://nuclide.cc/indications/follicular-lymphoma/)
- targets: [CD20](https://nuclide.cc/targets/cd20/)
- drugs: [Ibritumomab tiuxetan](https://nuclide.cc/drugs/ibritumomab-tiuxetan/), [Iodine-131 tositumomab](https://nuclide.cc/drugs/i-131-tositumomab/)
- trials: [IELSG37](https://nuclide.cc/trials/ielsg37/)
- pairings: [Rituximab pretreatment before ibritumomab tiuxetan (Zevalin)](https://nuclide.cc/pairings/rituximab-then-ibritumomab-tiuxetan/)

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JSON: https://nuclide.cc/api/v1/entities/rituximab.json