Hetero Group, one of India’s leading generic pharmaceutical companies and one of the world’s largest global producer of anti-retroviral drugs for HIV/AIDS treatment, has recently announced the launch of its biosimilar ‘Rituximab’ under the brand name Maball in India. It will be marketed and distributed by Hetero Healthcare Limited, a group company of Hetero.

The launch of biosimilar Rituximab will provide a much needed access to patients in India suffering with non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). Rituximab is recommended as the first-line treatment for NHL and is available in a single dose vial with two strengths – 100mg/10ml and 500mg/50ml.

Dr Bandi Parthasaradhi Reddy, CMD, Hetero Group says, “The launch of Maball strengthens Hetero’s position in the biosimilar market, and has enabled the company to join select biotech companies with the capability to develop, manufacture and commercialize complex monoclonal antibodies (mAb's).”

He further adds, “Biosimilars is one of the key strategic business areas for Hetero. We have invested in biosimilars and will introduce more biosimilar MAB’s in the future. We also have plans to introduce affordable biosimilar Rituximab into key markets outside India through our partners.”

Hetero’s Rituximab is a biosimilar version of Roche’s Rituximab. Rituximab is a monoclonal antibody used alone or with other drugs to treat non-Hodgkin's lymphoma and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia. It is also used for the treatment of other indications such as rheumatoid arthritis.

Hetero is the largest privately-held pharmaceutical company and is one of the top 10 pharmaceutical companies in India with an annual turnover of US $1.2 billion. Hetero has over 25 state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities which has been approved by various regulatory authorities like US FDA, EU, WHO etc.