Roche’s MabThera gets new approvals for arthritis and lymphoma

Roche has revealed that MabThera, its antibody drug targeted at diseases related to B-cells, has been given additional European approvals for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and as a maintenance therapy for relapsed or refactory follicular non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL).

The Swiss pharmaceutical company describes MabThera as the first maintenance therapy for NHL in 30 years to reduce the risk of death by as much as 48 per cent, compared to the standard forms of disease management.

Additionally, Roche said that the drug is now the “first and only” selective B-cell therapy indicated as a treatment for RA. Because B-cells are thought to play a major role in encouraging the disease, the use of MabThera can inhibit this process. The European Commission’s new indication for the treatment of RA was based on clinical trial results which found MabThera to be “highly effective” in controlling symptoms.

William M Burns, Roche Pharmaceuticals’ chief executive officer, commented: “We are confident that MabThera, Roche’s first innovative treatment for RA, will bring relief to patients with this debilitating disease and that our ongoing research and development programmes will yield more therapies for those who need them.”

Speaking of the drug’s additional approval as a maintenance therapy for NHL, Mr Burns added: “The quick approval of MabThera maintenance therapy mirrors the dramatic survival benefit this medicine can bring to the patient providing new hope to control the disease.”

Roche claims that over 730,000 patients have received MabThera, which is marketed by Genentech and Biogen Idec in the US.

MabThera has been recommended in the UK for the treatment of aggressive non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma since 2003 in combination with chemotherapy.

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