Rituxan: The First 20 Years

摘要

Rituximab (Rituxan) was the first chimeric monoclonal antibody approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the first approved for the treatment of cancer. Since then, combination therapy with various chemotherapeutic agents has increased response rates in lymphoma to almost 100% and has resulted in many cures. After its approval in 1997 for "relapsed or refractory, B-cell, low-grade, or follicular non-Hodgkin's lymphoma," Rituxan has subsequently been approved for other hematological indications as well as for use in several autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis. Not only was Rituxan successful in treating lymphoma, but it also overcame the prevailing myth at that time, that monoclonal antibodies were not useful as therapeutics. It also opened the door for future development of many more monoclonal antibodies for treating cancer.