In the Medical Letter article on rituximab (Rituxan - vol 40, page 66, June 19, 1998), the second sentence in the paragraph on Dosage and Cost should say that the rate of infusion can slowly be increased to a maximum of 400 mg/hour.

Rituximab (Rituxan - Genentech), an anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody already marketed for treatment of B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, is now FDA-approved for use concurrently with methotrexate to treat moderate to severe rheumatoid arthritis in patients who have had an inadequate response to one or more tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inhibitors. Rituximab selectively depletes CD20+ B cells, which apparently play a role in the autoimmune response and in the chronic synovitis associated with rheumatoid arthritis.

Rituximab (Rituxan - IDEC Pharmaceutical/Genentech), a monoclonal antibody, has been approved by the FDA for treatment of low-grade B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Most low-grade lymphomas are B-cell lymphomas.

Obinutuzumab (Gazyva – Genentech), a humanized anti-CD20 monoclonal antibody, has been approved by the FDA for use in combination with chlorambucil (Leukeran) in patients with previously untreated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Two other anti-CD20 antibodies, rituximab (Rituxan) and ofatumumab (Arzerra), were previously approved for treatment of CLL.

Yttrium-90 ibritumomab tiuxetan (Zevalin -IDEC) was approved by the FDA for treatment of patients with relapsed or refractory low-grade follicular or transformed B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), including patients with follicular lymphoma refractory to rituximab (Rituxan -Medical Letter 1998; 40:65). Zevalin is the first radioimmunoconjugate to be approved for treatment of cancer.

Bendamustine HCl (Treanda - Cephalon), an unusual DNA-alkylating agent that has been used in Europe for many years to treat lymphoma, has now been approved by the FDA for treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL).

Polatuzumab vedotin-piiq (Polivy – Genentech), a CD79b-directed antibody and microtubule inhibitor conjugate, has been approved by the FDA for use in combination with rituximab, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, and prednisone (R-CHP) for first-line treatment of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL), not otherwise specified (NOS), or high-grade B-cell lymphoma (HGBL) in adults who have an International Prognostic Index (IPI) score ≥2. The drug was previously approved for use in combination with bendamustine and rituximab for treatment of patients with relapsed or refactory DLBCL,...

The FDA has approved idelalisib (Zydelig – Gilead), an oral kinase inhibitor, for use in combination with rituximab (Rituxan) for treatment of relapsed chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). It is also approved as monotherapy for treatment of relapsed follicular lymphoma and relapsed small lymphocytic lymphoma (both are subtypes of indolent non-Hodgkins lymphoma) in patients who have received at least two prior systemic therapies.

The Bruton's tyrosine kinase (BTK) inhibitor zanubrutinib (Brukinsa), which was previously approved by the FDA for treatment of mantle cell lymphoma, Waldenström's macroglobulinemia, and relapsed or refractory marginal zone lymphoma, has now been approved for treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) or small lymphocytic lymphoma (SLL) in adults. The BTK inhibitors ibrutinib (Imbruvica) and acalabrutinib (Calquence) were approved earlier for treatment of CLL and SLL.

View Expanded Table: Some Biologic Drugs and JAK Inhibitors for Rheumatoid Arthritis