Mabthera 500 mg vial

What is it?

MabThera is a concentrate that is made up into a solution for infusion (drip into a vein). It contains the active substance rituximab. It is manufactured by Roche. In India. it has been renamed to Ristova

What is it used for?

MabThera is used in adults to treat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (a cancer of the lymph tissue), chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL, a cancer of the B-lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell) and rheumatoid arthritis (a disease that causes inflammation of the joints).
In non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, MabThera is used to treat two types of the disease, both of which affect B-lymphocytes:

In follicular lymphoma, MabThera is used in combination with chemotherapy (medicines to treat cancer) in patients with advanced disease who have not been treated before. It can also be used as maintenance treatment in patients whose follicular lymphoma has responded to initial chemotherapy. It is also used on its own in patients with advanced disease who are resistant to chemotherapy or who have failed two or more chemotherapy treatments;

In patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, MabThera is used in combination with a specific type of chemotherapy called 'CHOP' (cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine and prednisolone).

In CLL, MabThera is used in combination with chemotherapy in patients who have not been treated before and in patients whose disease has come back after previous treatment.

In rheumatoid arthritis, MabThera is used in adults with severe disease in combination with methotrexate (a medicine that acts on the immune system). It is used in patients who cannot take or have not responded adequately to other treatments for rheumatoid arthritis, including a tumour necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitor.