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Roche (RHHBY)'s Rituxan Cures Rare Skin-Blistering Disease in Study
3/7/2013 8:22:43 AM
Roche Holding AG (ROG)’s top-selling drug Rituxan effectively cured most cases of a rare and deadly skin disease in a patient study that suggests the medicine may replace steroids as the standard treatment. In a trial among 22 people with severe pemphigus, a disorder marked by blisters on the skin and in the mouth and genitals, 59 percent were symptom-free more than six years after treatment with a single dose of Rituxan, researchers at France’s National Institute of Health and Medical Research in Rouen wrote in the journal Science Translational Medicine today. Pemphigus is usually treated with steroids, though relapses are common, requiring long-term treatment that can cause complications including diabetes, osteoporosis and severe infections. While the study tested Rituxan in patients already treated with steroids, the researchers expect results in about a year from a larger trial that compares the drug with steroids as a frontline therapy, said Philippe Musette, a professor of dermatology who led the research. “In an autoimmune disease it’s really difficult to have complete remission,” Musette said in a telephone interview. “With one shot of rituximab we have a long-term result,” he said, using Rituxan’s generic name. Rituxan, approved as a treatment for lymphoma, leukemia and rheumatoid arthritis, had sales of 6.7 billion Swiss francs ($7.1 billion) last year, making it Basel, Switzerland-based Roche’s biggest-selling product. The drug is sold as MabThera outside the U.S.
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