Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42532981›Full record

ArticleACR open rheumatology2026

Biosimilar Rituximab in ANCA-Associated Vasculitis Compared to the Originator: A Multicenter Cohort Study.

Arielle Mendel, Lillian Barra, Hassan Behlouli, Sasha Bernatsky, Alison H Clifford, Jan Willem Cohen Tervaert, Natasha Dehghan, Aurore Fifi-Mah, Jean-Paul Makhzoum, Rosalie-Sélène Meunier and 5 more

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in ACR open rheumatology, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
0citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

15 authors.

Arielle MendelLupus and Vasculitis Clinic, Division of Rheumatology, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9732-616X
Lillian BarraDivision of Rheumatology, Department of Medicine, Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Western University, London, Ontario, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8614-6972
Hassan BehlouliCentre for Outcomes Research and Evaluation, Research Institute of the McGill University Health Centre, Montréal, Québec, Canada.
Sasha BernatskyLupus and Vasculitis Clinic, Division of Rheumatology, McGill University, Montréal, Québec, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9515-2802
Alison H CliffordDivision of Rheumatology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5974-1821
Jan Willem Cohen TervaertDivision of Rheumatology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7407-6364
Natasha DehghanDivision of Rheumatology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Aurore Fifi-MahDivision of Rheumatology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Jean-Paul MakhzoumDivision of Internal Medicine, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4523-8525
Rosalie-Sélène MeunierDivision of Internal Medicine, Hôpital du Sacré-Coeur de Montréal, Université de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1383-6957
Nataliya MilmanDivision of Rheumatology, The Ottawa Hospital, University of Ottawa and Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7353-7007
Medha SoowamberDivision of Rheumatology, Sinai Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3458-1608
Elaine YacyshynDivision of Rheumatology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2753-2790
Nader KhalidiDivision of Rheumatology, St Joseph's Healthcare, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
Christian PagnouxDivision of Rheumatology, Sinai Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6287-9549

Funding

Canadian Initiative for Outcomes in Rheumatology Care 2021-004
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveTo evaluate the six-month effectiveness and safety of rituximab biosimilars compared to the originator in granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA) and microscopic polyangiitis (MPA), and outcomes following originator to biosimilar switching.

methodsWe recruited adults with GPA or MPA treated with the rituximab originator or a biosimilar for induction or maintenance, or who switched from originator to biosimilar maintenance (2018-2023). Participants either started the treatment within the preceding six months or were recruited from vasculitis research cohorts. Outcomes included six-month remission (Birmingham Vasculitis Activity Score [BVAS] version 3 of 0), relapse (BVAS rise after achieving remission requiring treatment), vasculitis damage, and serious adverse events (SAEs).

resultsWe studied 207 participants from 9 centers: 132 starting induction (58 originator and 74 biosimilar), 59 starting maintenance (23 originator and 36 biosimilar), and 16 in the "switch" group. Mean age was 56.7 years (SD 17.5), 52% were female, 80% were White, and 70% had GPA. At six months from induction, 51 of 53 (96%) originator and 66 of 73 (90%) biosimilar recipients achieved remission (difference 6%, 95% confidence interval [CI] -4% to 15%), whereas at three months (exploratory) 48 of 51 (94%) and 57 of 72 (79%) recipients, respectively, had achieved remission (difference 15%, 95% CI 2% to 26%). All individuals in the maintenance and "switch" subgroups were in remission at six months. One minor relapse occurred in each of the induction groups and in the originator maintenance group. Change in vasculitis damage and SAEs were not significantly different between groups.

conclusionThis study found no significant differences in six-month outcomes between the rituximab originator and biosimilars for induction of GPA and MPA, with no concerning early signals in those initiating maintenance or switching from the originator to a biosimilar.

Identifiers

PMID42532981
PMCPMC13425582

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.