First Approval And Launch For IDEC's Rituxan

IDEC Pharmaceuticals' anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody therapy, Rituxan(rituximab, previously IDEC-C2B8), has been cleared for marketing by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of relapsed or refractory low-grade or follicular B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. The day after rituximab was approved in the USA (November 26), the product was also approved in Switzerland and has been launched onto the market there under the brand name MabThera.

IDEC discovered rituximab and developed the product in collaboration with Genentech, Hoffmann-La Roche and Zenyaku Kogyo of Japan. IDEC and Genentech will copromote rituximab in the USA, while Roche will be responsible for marketing it in the rest of the world, with the exception of Japan.

48% Response Rate Rituximab works by binding to the CD20 antigen on the surface of mature B cells and B-cell tumors, recruiting immune effector functions and causing B cell lysis (in both malignant and normal mature B cells).