What is the difference between Truxima and Rituxan?
Truxima (rituximab-abbs) is a biosimilar to Rituxan (rituximab). While both drugs are CD20-directed cytolytic antibodies used to treat non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL), Rituxan has additional FDA-approved indications beyond NHL.
What Is a Biosimilar?
Biosimilars are highly similar to an already-approved biological product and have no clinically meaningful differences in terms of safety, purity, and potency.
FDA-Approved Uses: Truxima vs. Rituxan
Truxima and Rituxan belong to the class of drugs called CD20-directed cytolytic antibodies.
Both medications are approved for the treatment of adult patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL):
- Relapsed or refractory, low grade or follicular, CD20-positive B-cell NHL as a single agent.
- Previously untreated follicular, CD20-positive, B-cell NHL in combination with first line chemotherapy and, in patients achieving a complete or partial response to a rituximab product in combination with chemotherapy, as single-agent maintenance therapy.
- Non-progressing (including stable disease), low-grade, CD20-positive, B-cell NHL as a single agent after first-line cyclophosphamide, vincristine, and prednisone (CVP) chemotherapy.
- Previously untreated diffuse large B-cell, CD20-positive NHL in combination with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone (CHOP) or other anthracycline-based chemotherapy regimens.
Rituxan is additionally indicated for several other medical conditions in adults patients, including:
- Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL):
- Previously untreated and previously treated CD20-positive CLL in combination with fludarabine and cyclophosphamide (FC).
- Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA):
- In combination with methotrexate in adult patients with moderately-to severely-active RA who have inadequate response to one or more TNF antagonist therapies.
- Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis (GPA) (Wegener’s Granulomatosis) and Microscopic Polyangiitis (MPA)
- in combination with glucocorticoids inpatients two years of age and older.
- Pemphigus Vulgaris (PV):
- Moderate to severe disease in adult patients.
It is also approved to treat children 6 years and older with mature B-cell NHL and mature B-cell acute leukemia.
For more information, see What Are Biosimilars? Top Facts You May Not Know
Related questions
- What are the new drugs for rheumatoid arthritis (RA)?
- How will I feel after a Rituxan infusion?
- What are Monoclonal Antibodies and how do they work?
References
- Rituxan [package insert]. Updated January 2025. Genentech, Inc. Accessed March 25, 2025 at https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=b172773b-3905-4a1c-ad95-bab4b6126563
- Truxima [package insert]. Updated December 2024. Cephalon, Inc. Accessed March 25, 2025 at https://dailymed.nlm.nih.gov/dailymed/drugInfo.cfm?setid=9af3ddc7-4217-417a-ac89-8704edc5bc44
Read next
How long does it take for Rituxan to work?
Patients treated with Rituxan may notice an early response within 7-8 weeks of treatment. Most rheumatoid arthritis patients will notice some improvement in their symptoms, such as improvement in their levels of pain and inflammation, within 16 weeks of starting treatment with Rituxan. Continue reading
Biosimilars vs Biologics: What are they and how do they compare?
A biosimilar is a biological product that is similar to a reference biologic (usually the originally approved product) and for which there are no clinically meaningful differences in terms of safety, purity, and potency. The most recent biosimilar approval was Kristy (insulin aspart-xjhz), a rapid acting human insulin analog interchangeable biosimilar to NovoLog (insulin aspart), on July 15, 2025.
Continue reading
Does Rituxan cause hair loss?
It’s possible for Rituxan (rituximab) to cause hair loss. This includes losing hair anywhere on your body, such as your head, legs, eyebrows, and eyelashes. Hair loss (alopecia) does not seem to be a common side effect of Rituxan. Continue reading
See also:
Related medical questions
- How does the drug Rituxan work?
- What is the success rate of Rituxan (rituximab) in patients with blood cancers?
- How do you prepare for a Rituxan infusion?
- What is the success rate of Rituxan (rituximab) in rheumatoid arthritis?
- What is the difference between Rituxan and Rituxan Hycela?
- What are biologic drugs and how do they work?
- What biosimilars have been approved in the United States?
- Are lung nodules common after Bendeka & Rituxan therapy?
- Does Truxima make you gain weight?
- Is Truxima a chemotherapy drug?
Drug information
Related support groups
- Rituxan (21 questions, 105 members)
- Rituximab (13 questions, 56 members)
- Truxima (5 questions, 4 members)
- Rheumatoid Arthritis (337 questions, 1,333 members)
- Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) (27 questions, 57 members)
- Follicular Lymphoma (21 questions, 15 members)
- Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma (19 questions, 3 members)
- Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma (18 questions, 39 members)
- Mantle Cell Lymphoma (10 questions, 9 members)
- Granulomatosis with Polyangiitis (9 questions, 18 members)
- Microscopic polyangiitis (5 questions, 6 members)