{"entity":{"id":"rituximab","kind":"drug","name":"Rituximab","aka":["Rituximab and Hyaluronidase Human","Rituxan Hycela"],"tldr":"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 Superseded in CLL by targeted agents (CLL13, CLL14, ELEVATE-TN) but still used with venetoclax in relapse (MURANO: venetoclax-rituximab 24 months) and in resource-limited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.","status":"approved","asOf":"2026-09-07","wikipedia":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rituximab","links":[{"label":"FDA label (DailyMed)","url":"https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/search.cfm?query=Rituximab"}],"tags":[],"related":[],"indications":["dlbcl"],"sections":[],"technologies":[],"targets":["cd20"],"drugs":[],"companies":[],"institutions":[],"pathways":[],"terms":[],"trials":[],"people":[],"bottlenecks":[],"keyPapers":[],"journals":[],"dependsOn":[],"notes":[],"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":[{"region":"US","year":1997,"indication":"Relapsed follicular lymphoma; first antibody approved for cancer"},{"region":"US","year":2010,"indication":"CLL with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide"}],"mechanismSteps":["Binds CD20 and clusters it into lipid rafts","Complement is fixed (CDC) and NK cells recruited (ADCC)","B cells and CLL cells are lysed; normal B cells recover after 6-12 months"],"dosing":{"route":"IV or subcutaneous (Rituxan Hycela)","schedule":"CLL: 375 mg/m² cycle 1 then 500 mg/m² cycles 2-6 with chemotherapy or venetoclax","monitoring":"Infusion reactions, HBV reactivation (boxed), PML (boxed), late-onset neutropenia","source":"https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/search.cfm?labeltype=all&query=Rituxan"},"toxicity":[{"event":"Infusion-related reactions (first infusion)","anyGradePct":77,"source":"https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/search.cfm?labeltype=all&query=Rituxan","note":"Historic lymphoma data; lower with premedication"},{"event":"Hepatitis B reactivation","note":"Boxed warning; screen all patients"},{"event":"Late-onset neutropenia","anyGradePct":8}],"access":[],"regulatoryEvents":[]},"route":"/drugs/rituximab/","neighbours":{"indication":[{"id":"dlbcl","kind":"indication","name":"Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma","route":"/indications/dlbcl/"},{"id":"follicular-lymphoma","kind":"indication","name":"Follicular lymphoma","route":"/indications/follicular-lymphoma/"}],"target":[{"id":"cd20","kind":"target","name":"CD20","route":"/targets/cd20/"}],"drug":[{"id":"ibritumomab-tiuxetan","kind":"drug","name":"Ibritumomab tiuxetan","route":"/drugs/ibritumomab-tiuxetan/"},{"id":"i-131-tositumomab","kind":"drug","name":"Iodine-131 tositumomab","route":"/drugs/i-131-tositumomab/"}],"trial":[{"id":"ielsg37","kind":"trial","name":"IELSG37","route":"/trials/ielsg37/"}],"pairing":[{"id":"rituximab-then-ibritumomab-tiuxetan","kind":"pairing","name":"Rituximab pretreatment before ibritumomab tiuxetan (Zevalin)","route":"/pairings/rituximab-then-ibritumomab-tiuxetan/"}]}}