The RITUXAN for RA EXPERIENCE Program

 

through Genentech
Rheumatology
Access Solutions

$4,000 per
12-month period
toward the cost of
Rituxan for eligible patients

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Indication

Rituxan® (rituximab) in combination with methotrexate is indicated for the treatment of adult patients with moderately to severely- active rheumatoid arthritis who have had an inadequate response to one or more TNF antagonist therapies.

Rituxan is not recommended for treatment of patients with severe active infections.

Important Safety Information

RITUXAN administration can result in serious, including fatal, adverse reactions. These include: infusion reactions, tumor lysis syndrome (TLS), severe mucocutaneous reactions, and progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML).

Warnings and Precautions

Rituxan administration can also result in additional serious, including fatal, adverse reactions including:

  • hepatitis B reactivation
  • other infections including bacterial, fungal, new or reactivated viral infections
  • cardiovascular events

Patients should be closely observed for signs of infection if biologic agents and /or DMARDs other than methotrexate are used concomitantly

Common adverse reactions include infusion reactions and infections

For additional safety information, please see the full prescribing information, including BOXED WARNINGS and Medication Guide.

Attention Healthcare Provider: Provide Medication Guide to patient prior to RITUXAN infusion.

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KOL videos: The Rituxan Clinical vPrint series

Rituxan vPrints take clinical reprints and other data analyses to the next level with dynamic video presentations by leading rheumatologists

Select a video presentation by clicking on a tab below.

 
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van Vollenhoven vPrint
  • Digital study review of the long-term safety data of Rituxan presented at ACR 2009
 		van Vollenhoven Digital Study Review Finckh Digital Reprint Genovese Digital Reprint
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Finckh vPrint
  • Digital reprint of an analysis that examines switching TNFi patients to subsequent MOA like Rituxan
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Genovese vPrint
  • Digital reprint that looks at the safety of biologic therapy after Rituxan

Updated long-term safety profile of rituximab

A recent analysis by van Vollenhoven et al entitled Long-term safety of rituximab: Follow-up of the rheumatoid arthritis (RA) clinical trials and retreatment population was presented at the ACR 2009 conference. This analysis examined the long-term safety profile of rituximab in the largest patient population to date—3095 patients from 8 controlled and 2 open-label extension RA clinical trials. The investigators found that rituximab had a consistent safety profile, with no increase in serious infections over multiple courses. Additionally, the proportion of patients with infusion reactions was shown to decrease over multiple courses.

Please note: Care should be exercised in interpreting open-label results due to the inability to minimize bias.

In this video, Dr. Alan Bridges of the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine will walk you through the highlights of this analysis.

Considerations for switching patients after inadequate response to TNFi treatment

An analysis by Finckh and colleagues titled Which subgroup of patients with rheumatoid arthritis benefits from switching to rituximab versus subsequent anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) agents after previous failure of an anti-TNF agent? was published in the Annals of Rheumatic Diseases. This study examined the effectiveness of switching to a therapy with a different MOA, like rituximab, versus subsequent TNFi in different subgroups of TNFi patients. The authors report that the improvement in disease activity was significantly better in patients treated with rituximab versus a subsequent TNFi when the reason for switching was TNFi-inadequate response. When patients were switched due to other causes (including AEs), the improvement in disease activity was similar between rituximab and a subsequent TNFi.

In this video, Dr. Kevin Latinis of Kansas University Medical Center will guide you through the findings of this important study.

Please note: Care should be taken when interpreting these data, as they constitute the results of an uncontrolled observational study based on registry data. The study was not powered to detect differences in efficacy between therapies. No comparison of safety and efficacy is intended with any specific TNFi agent.

Other studies have given additional perspectives on switching from TNF inhibitors, including the Karlsson review, which shows response rates with successive TNF inhibitors.

Downloads & Links

Click here to download the full journal article:
Which subgroup of patients with rheumatoid arthritis benefits from switching to rituximab versus subsequent anti-tumour necrosis factor (TNF) agents after previous failure of an anti-TNF agent?

Finckh A, Ciurea A, Brulhart L, et al; on the behalf of the doctors of the Swiss Clinical Quality Management Programme for Rheumatoid Arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis. Published online May 2009. doi: 10.1136/ard.2008.105064

Click here to download the full journal article:
Treatment response to a second or third TNF-inhibitor in RA: results from the South Swedish Arthritis Treatment Group Register.

Karlsson JA, Kristensen LE, Kapetanovic MC, Gülfe A, Saxne T, Geborek P. Rheumatology. 2008;47(4):507-513.

Safety of biologics used after Rituxan by Dr. Mark Genovese and colleagues

Dr. Daniel Furst of the UCLA Medical Center presents an analysis published by Dr. Mark Genovese and colleagues' research describing the rate of serious infections in Rituxan patients who subsequently received treatment with another biologic therapy.

Please note: Limited data are available on the safety of the use of biologic agents or DMARDs other than methotrexate in patients exhibiting peripheral B-cell depletion following treatment with rituximab. Observe patients closely for signs of infection if biologic agents and/or DMARDs are used concomitantly.