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Rituxan Drug Interactions
Several products can cause negative drug interactions with Rituxan, including certain blood pressure medications, live vaccines, and echinacea. Some of these interactions could increase your risk of serious side effects, such as dangerously low blood counts. To ensure a safe treatment process with Rituxan, tell your healthcare provider about all other medications you are taking, including nonprescription and herbal products.
Rituxan® (rituximab) can potentially interact with a few other medications. Some of the drugs that can interact with Rituxan include:
- Abciximab (ReoPro®)
- Blood pressure medications
- Certolizumab pegol (Cimzia®)
- Cisplatin (Platinol®)
- Echinacea
- Leflunomide (Arava®)
- "Live" vaccinations, including:
- Chickenpox vaccine (varicella vaccine)
- FluMist® (the nasal vaccine for influenza; the injected vaccine is not live)
- MMR vaccine (measles, mumps, rubella vaccine)
- Polio vaccine
- Rotavirus vaccine
- Smallpox vaccine
- Yellow fever vaccine
- BCG vaccine (used in some countries for tuberculosis)
- Natalizumab (Tysabri®)
- Pimecrolimus (Elidel®)
- Trastuzumab (Herceptin®).
The following sections explain in detail the potentially negative interactions that can occur when Rituxan is combined with any of the drugs listed above.
Abciximab
If you have taken abciximab in the past, you may be at a higher risk for certain Rituxan side effects (and vice versa as well -- if you have taken Rituxan before, you might be at a higher risk for certain abciximab side effects). This is due to the formation of antibodies to certain types of monoclonal medications. Your healthcare provider will need to monitor you more closely in this case.
Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD