A study published in Rheumatology International has concluded that there was ‘high comparability’ between Sandoz’s Rixathon® (rituximab) and Roche’s Mabthera®. The Norwegian participants included adults with rheumatoid arthritis who had a mandatory biosimilar switch from MabThera to Rixathon, and those who had only received Rixathon. The authors found that a non-medical switch to the biosimilar Rixathon in those patients was largely effective, and drug survival was comparable to published data for the originator Mabthera.
No specific funding was received from any bodies in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors to carry out the study.