This information does not take the place of talking to your healthcare provider about either your medical condition or your treatment with Rituxan. Talk with your healthcare provider if you have any questions about your treatment with Rituxan.
WHAT IS RITUXAN?
Rituxan® (rituximab) is a prescription medicine used in adults with another medicine called methotrexate to reduce the signs and symptoms of moderately to severely active rheumatoid arthritis (RA) after at least one other medicine called a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) antagonist has been used and did not work well.
People with serious infections should not receive Rituxan.
IMPORTANT SAFETY INFORMATION
Rituxan therapy can result in serious side effects, some of which can be life-threatening. These include:
- infusion reactions
- tumor lysis syndrome (TLS)
- severe mucocutaneous reactions
- progressive multifocal leukoencephalopathy (PML)
Other serious, potentially life threatening side effects are:
- hepatitis B infection that may become active again
- serious infections
- heart problems
- low blood cell counts
Common side effects include infections and infusion reactions.
Before treatment with Rituxan, patients should tell their doctor if they have an infection, including one that will not go away or keeps coming back.
If patients experience any symptoms or side effects during or after Rituxan treatment, they should seek immediate medical attention.
These are not all of the possible side effects with Rituxan. Tell your doctor about any side effect that bothers you or that does not go away.
You may report side effects to the FDA at (800) FDA-1088 or www.fda.gov/medwatch. You may also report side effects to Genentech at (888) 835-2555.
Please see enclosed full prescribing information, including Medication Guide.
If you have any questions about this information, be sure to discuss them with your doctor.
