Abstract
Background and Aims
Biosimilar drugs need to prove similar effectiveness to the brand name drug, in order to have their authorization from regulatory agencies. Rituximab initially developed as a treatment for non-Hodgkin lymphoma, is used as a therapeutic alternative to several autoimmune diseases, including primary glomerular diseases.
The objective of this study is to observe if there were differences in terms of effects measured in proteinuria and relapse episodes between rituximab brand versus biosimilar in primary glomerular diseases
Method
This is a retrospective descriptive study that included patients receiving rituximab brand or biosimilar for the first time between March 2018 to March 2019, collecting information from the reported medical records with primary glomerulopathy were included. The collected laboratory data included creatinine, proteinuria, leukocyte and lymphocyte count before (0-60 days before) and after (0-60 days after) administration of rituximab.
Results
A total of 19 patients with primary glomerulopathy were included. Six patients (59-years-old (26-74); 50% female) with baseline 6.52±2.00x10^9/L leucocyte count, 2.28±1.10x10^9/L lymphocyte count, 1.63±1.04 mg/dL creatinine and 6.84±3.36g/24h proteinuria, were treated with biosimilar-rituximab. Thirteen patients (58-years-old (25-81); 30% female) with baseline 9.80±4.62x10^9/L leucocyte count, 1.92±1.13 x10^9/L lymphocyte count, 1.61±0.85 mg/dL creatinine and 5.81±4.55 g/24h proteinuria, were treated with brand-rituximab. After the rituximab administration, these values were 6.13±1.94x10^9/L leucocyte count, 1.30±0.59x10^9/L lymphocyte count, 1.16±1.19 mg/dL creatinine, 3.29±0.58g/24h and proteinuria for the biosimilar group; and 8.77±3.78x10^9/L leucocyte count, 1.67±1.13x10^9/L lymphocyte count, 1.56±1.19 mg/dL creatinine and 3.36±2.20g/24h proteinuria for the brand group. After rituximab administration CD19+ lymphocytes become negative in both groups (5/5 for the biosimilar group; 6/6 for the brand group). There were 2 total remissions, 1 partial remission and 3 without response with the biosimilar and 1 total remission, 5 partial remissions and 7 without response with the rituximab brand. Biosimilar was well tolerated in 6/6 patients and Rituximab brand infection did not develop was well tolerated in 11/13 patients and 4/13 patients showed an episode of infection. No statistically significant results were observed for the response to treatment between both groups.
Conclusion
The biosimilar shows a similar profile in terms of proteinuria and remissions against rituximab mark in the reported follow-up period, however our study is limited since it has a small sample, so a larger study is necessary to demonstrate these results with statistical significance
Measurement of Glomerular Area in Primary Glomerular Diseases With a Digital Pathology Software
