What does rituximab do?
What does rituximab do?
Rituximab injection is used alone or together with other medicines to treat a type of cancer called non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL). It is also used in combination with other cancer medicines to treat mature B-cell non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL) and mature B-cell acute leukemia (B-AL).
Is rituxan chemotherapy?
RITUXAN is not chemotherapy. RITUXAN is a type of antibody therapy that can be used alone or with chemotherapy. They work in different ways to find and attack the cells where cancer starts. RITUXAN targets and attaches to the CD20 protein found on the surface of blood cells with cancer and some healthy blood cells.
What molecule does rituximab target?
Rituximab targets CD20, a transmembrane protein present on virtually all B cells from the stage at which they become committed to B-cell development until it is downregulated when they differentiate into antibody-secreting plasma cells (Reff et al., 1994). Thus, CD20 is considered a pan-B-cell antigenic marker.
Is rituximab safe?
Over 540,000 patients worldwide have now received rituximab and serious adverse reactions have occurred in a small minority of patients, but for the great majority of patients, rituximab is safe and well tolerated.
What is the difference between Rituxan and rituximab?
Rituxan is the trade name for rituximab. In some cases, health care professionals may use the trade name rituxan when referring to the generic drug name rituximab. Drug type: Rituximab is a monoclonal antibody. (For more detail, see “How this drug works” section below).
Is rituximab chemotherapy or immunotherapy?
Rituxan (rituximab) is a monoclonal antibody medication that treats different types of blood cancer. Rituxan is also an immunotherapy medication, meaning it helps make the immune system better at fighting cancer. Different Rituxan formulations and biosimilars are available.
Are monoclonal antibodies safe for Covid?
Monoclonal antibody therapy for COVID-19 is well tolerated with minimal risks. Injection site reactions and infusion-related reactions are the most commonly reported adverse events. Monoclonal antibody therapy is not indicated in severe cases requiring hospitalization.