What is Rituxan?

Rituxan, the prescription drug rituximab, is classified as a biological antineoplastic agent. It is used to treat specific kinds of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) in adults. It can also be combined with another drug, methotrexate, to treat symptoms related to rheumatoid arthritis. However, it is only given to people with rheumatoid arthritis if they have had no luck using a tumor necrosis factor inhibitor medication. In cases of NHL, Rituxan works by killing off blood cells that have replicated abnormally. With rheumatoid arthritis, this medication attacks and kills the specific blood cells that are causing a person's immune system to assault their own joints.