Sandoz, a Novartis division, and the pioneer and global leader in biosimilars, has announced that the European Commission (EC) has approved Rixathon (biosimilar rituximab) for use in Europe. Rixathon is approved for use in all indications of the reference medicine, MabThera.

"Today's approval of Rixathon represents a big win for patients in Europe with blood cancers or immunological diseases because it enables increased access to biologics. It also allows healthcare systems to redeploy resources to other areas of high need, particularly innovative therapies" said Carol Lynch, Global Head, Biopharmaceuticals, Sandoz. "Sandoz is committed to increasing patient access to biologic medicines, and Rixathon will be one of the five major launches we plan in the next four years. We have worked with care and passion towards this approval, and now is the time when we are bringing this medicine to healthcare professional and patients in Europe."

Rixathon is approved for non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (follicular lymphoma and diffuse large B-cell lymphoma) and chronic lymphocytic leukemia, as well as immunological diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, granulomatosis with polyangiitis, and microscopic polyangiitis.

The EC approval was based on a comprehensive development program generating analytical, preclinical, and clinical - including pharmacokinetic/pharmacodynamic (PK/PD) - data. The program demonstrated Rixathon matches its reference medicine in terms of safety, efficacy, and quality.

Sandoz is committed to increasing patient access to high-quality, life-enhancing biosimilar medicines. It is the pioneer and global leader in biosimilars, and now has four biosimilar medicines approved in Europe. Sandoz has a leading biosimilar pipeline, and plans to obtain approval for and launch four more biosimilars of major oncology and immunology biologics by 2020. A division of the Novartis Group, Sandoz is well positioned to lead the biosimilars industry based on its experience and capabilities in development, manufacturing, and commercialization.