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Rabbit anti-human thymocyte immunoglobulin is a biological immunosuppressant containing rabbit-derived antibodies that reduce immune-cell activity. It is licensed to prevent rejection after kidney or heart transplantation and to treat kidney-transplant rejection that has not responded to corticosteroids. It is normally combined with other immunosuppressants.
Rabeprazole sodium is a proton pump inhibitor that reduces acid production in the stomach. It is used for acid reflux disease, peptic ulcers and uncommon conditions involving excessive acid secretion; it can also accompany antibiotics when treating Helicobacter pylori infection associated with an ulcer.
Rabies vaccine is an inactivated vaccine that helps the immune system make antibodies against rabies virus. It is used before exposure in people at increased risk and after a possible exposure to help prevent rabies. Possible exposure requires urgent medical assessment even if the person was vaccinated previously.
This inactivated vaccine stimulates immunity against rabies and cannot cause rabies. It is used before exposure in people at increased risk and after possible exposure to help prevent infection.
Radium-223 dichloride is a radioactive treatment that targets areas of prostate cancer in bone. It is used for selected adults with hormone-resistant prostate cancer causing symptoms from bone metastases, without known spread to internal organs.
Raloxifene hydrochloride is a selective oestrogen receptor modulator (SERM) used to prevent and treat osteoporosis after the menopause. It reduces vertebral fractures, but a reduction in hip fractures has not been demonstrated.
Raltegravir is an antiretroviral that blocks HIV integrase. It is used with other active treatments to control HIV-1; it does not cure HIV.
Raltegravir potassium is an antiretroviral that treats HIV-1 by blocking HIV integrase. It is used with other active HIV treatments to reduce viral replication; it does not cure HIV.
Raltitrexed is an antifolate chemotherapy that blocks cancer cells from making DNA. It is licensed for palliative treatment of advanced colorectal cancer when fluorouracil and folinic acid treatment is unsuitable or not tolerated.
Ramipril is a prescription angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor used for high blood pressure, heart failure, after some heart attacks, specified kidney disease and reducing cardiovascular risk in selected people.
Ramucirumab is a targeted monoclonal antibody that blocks a signal involved in forming tumour blood vessels. It is used for selected advanced stomach, bowel, lung and liver cancers, either alone or with other anticancer treatments.
Ranibizumab is a biological anti-VEGF treatment injected into the eye by an ophthalmology specialist. It is used for retinal conditions in which abnormal blood vessels or fluid leakage threaten vision.
Ranitidine hydrochloride is an H2-receptor antagonist that reduces stomach-acid production. It is not currently available in the UK following precautionary discontinuation over an impurity concern.
Ranolazine is an anti-anginal treatment for adults with stable angina. It is usually added when first-line treatments do not control symptoms adequately or cannot be tolerated; it does not treat an angina attack that is already happening.
Rasagiline hemitartrate is an oral monoamine oxidase-B inhibitor used to treat adults with Parkinson’s disease. It may be used alone or alongside levodopa when symptoms return as levodopa’s effect wears off.
Rasagiline mesilate is a monoamine oxidase-B inhibitor used to manage symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. It may be used alone or alongside levodopa when its effects wear off between treatments.
Rasagiline tartrate is a selective MAO-B inhibitor used in adults with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease. It may be used alone or added to levodopa when symptoms return towards the end of a levodopa dose. It slows dopamine breakdown in the brain, helping to improve movement symptoms.
Rasburicase is a recombinant urate-oxidase enzyme used around the start of chemotherapy. It rapidly breaks down excess uric acid, helping protect the kidneys when blood cancers are likely to undergo rapid tumour lysis.
Ravulizumab is a monoclonal antibody that blocks complement protein C5. It is given by specialist intravenous infusion to control complement-mediated damage in selected blood, kidney, neuromuscular and neuroinflammatory disorders.
Reboxetine is a prescription antidepressant that mainly increases noradrenaline signalling in the brain. In the UK, it is licensed to treat major depression and to maintain improvement in people who initially respond.
This is an inactivated oral vaccine containing killed Vibrio cholerae O1 bacteria and a non-toxic recombinant part of cholera toxin. It is used for selected travellers aged 2 years and over whose destination and travel conditions create a meaningful cholera risk; most travellers do not need it. Vaccination does not replace careful food, water and hygiene precautions.
Recombinant crisantaspase is an enzyme-based anticancer treatment used with other chemotherapy medicines for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and lymphoblastic lymphoma. It usually replaces E. coli-derived asparaginase after hypersensitivity or silent inactivation.
Regadenoson is a selective coronary vasodilator used for diagnostic cardiac procedures. It temporarily increases coronary blood flow so clinicians can assess heart-muscle perfusion or evaluate a single narrowed coronary artery during angiography.
Regorafenib is an oral targeted cancer treatment that blocks several protein kinases involved in tumour growth and blood-vessel formation. It is licensed for selected adults with previously treated metastatic colorectal cancer, gastrointestinal stromal tumours or hepatocellular carcinoma.
Remdesivir is a direct-acting antiviral used to treat COVID-19. It is given into a vein by a healthcare professional to eligible people who need supplemental oxygen or who are at increased risk of severe illness.
Remifentanil hydrochloride is a potent, very short-acting opioid given into a vein in closely monitored clinical settings. It supports general anaesthesia and can provide analgesia for mechanically ventilated adults in intensive care.
Remimazolam besylate is a short-acting intravenous benzodiazepine. In adults, selected UK products are licensed for procedural sedation or for inducing and maintaining general anaesthesia.
Repaglinide is a short-acting oral treatment that stimulates insulin release around meals. It is licensed for adults with type 2 diabetes when lifestyle measures are insufficient, either alone or with metformin when metformin alone does not provide adequate control.
Reslizumab is a monoclonal antibody that reduces eosinophilic airway inflammation. It is licensed as add-on treatment for adults with severe eosinophilic asthma that remains inadequately controlled by established maintenance treatment.
A recombinant protein vaccine that combines RSV prefusion F antigen with an immune-response-enhancing adjuvant. It helps prevent RSV lower respiratory tract disease in specified adults; it does not treat an existing RSV infection.
A non-live recombinant protein vaccine that helps the immune system recognise RSV. It is licensed to prevent RSV lower respiratory tract disease in adults and, when given during pregnancy, to protect infants in their first months of life.
Rezafungin acetate is an echinocandin antifungal used to treat invasive candidiasis in adults. It is given into a vein by healthcare professionals and is intended for serious Candida infections affecting the blood, tissues or organs.
Ribavirin is an antiviral used with other treatments for chronic hepatitis C; it should not be used alone. Specialists sometimes use it outside its licence for hepatitis E.
Ribociclib succinate is the salt form of ribociclib, a targeted anticancer treatment that inhibits CDK4 and CDK6. It is used with endocrine therapy for specified hormone receptor-positive, HER2-negative early, locally advanced or metastatic breast cancers.
Rifabutin is a rifamycin antibiotic used against mycobacteria. Its licensed roles include pulmonary tuberculosis, non-tuberculous mycobacterial infections and prevention of Mycobacterium avium complex infection in people with advanced HIV.
Rifampicin is a rifamycin antibiotic used mainly with other treatments for tuberculosis and certain other serious bacterial infections. It is also licensed in selected circumstances to clear meningococcal or Haemophilus influenzae carriage.
Rifaximin is a poorly absorbed rifamycin antibiotic that acts mainly inside the bowel. The selected UK product is used in adults with liver disease to reduce recurrence of overt hepatic encephalopathy, which can cause confusion and reduced alertness.
Rilpivirine is a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor used to control HIV-1. Its long-acting injection is used with injectable cabotegravir in eligible people whose HIV is already suppressed.
Rilpivirine hydrochloride is a non-nucleoside reverse transcriptase inhibitor used with other antiretroviral medicines to treat selected people with HIV-1.
Riluzole acts on the nervous system and is used for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), the most common form of motor neurone disease. It may modestly slow the disease course and extend survival or time without mechanical ventilation, but it is not a cure and does not usually produce noticeable symptom improvement.
Rimegepant is a CGRP receptor antagonist for adults. It is licensed to treat migraine attacks with or without aura and to prevent episodic migraine in people with frequent attacks.
Riociguat is a specialist treatment that relaxes blood vessels supplying the lungs. It is used for certain forms of pulmonary arterial hypertension and chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension to improve exercise capacity.
Ripretinib is an oral targeted anticancer treatment called a tyrosine kinase inhibitor. It is licensed for adults with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumour (GIST) previously treated with at least three kinase inhibitors, including imatinib.
Risankizumab is a biological treatment that blocks interleukin-23, an immune-system protein involved in inflammation. It is used under specialist supervision for certain forms of psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
Risdiplam is an oral treatment for 5q spinal muscular atrophy (SMA). It modifies SMN2 gene processing to increase functional survival motor neuron protein.
Risedronate sodium is a bisphosphonate that slows bone breakdown. The selected product is used for postmenopausal osteoporosis and to preserve bone mass in some postmenopausal women receiving long-term systemic corticosteroids.
Risedronate sodium hemipentahydrate is a bisphosphonate that slows the breakdown of bone. It is used to treat osteoporosis and reduce fracture risk in people covered by its licence.
Risperidone is an antipsychotic that changes signalling by dopamine, serotonin and other brain messengers. It is used mainly for schizophrenia and manic episodes, with selected oral products also licensed for specific persistent aggression.
Ritlecitinib tosylate is an immunosuppressant that selectively inhibits JAK3 and TEC-family enzymes. It is used under specialist supervision to treat severe alopecia areata in adults and adolescents aged 12 years and over.
Ritonavir is an antiviral protease inhibitor used as part of combination treatment for HIV-1. Its usual role is to slow the breakdown of another protease inhibitor, increasing that medicine’s exposure and helping it work effectively.
Rituximab is a monoclonal antibody that targets B cells. Selected intravenous products are licensed for certain B-cell cancers and autoimmune diseases, while the selected subcutaneous product is limited to particular adult lymphomas.
Rivaroxaban is a prescription anticoagulant, sometimes called a blood thinner. It reduces harmful clot formation and is used in selected patients to treat or prevent venous clots, prevent stroke in non-valvular atrial fibrillation, and prevent clots after hip or knee replacement surgery.
Rivastigmine is a cholinesterase inhibitor that increases acetylcholine signalling in the brain. The selected transdermal patch is licensed for symptomatic treatment of mild to moderately severe Alzheimer’s dementia; it may ease symptoms but does not cure dementia or stop its progression.
Rivastigmine hydrogen tartrate is a cholinesterase inhibitor used to manage symptoms of dementia. Selected oral products are licensed for mild to moderately severe Alzheimer’s dementia and dementia associated with idiopathic Parkinson’s disease. It may temporarily reduce some symptoms but does not cure dementia.
Rizatriptan benzoate is a triptan used to treat the headache phase of a migraine attack in adults, with or without aura. It treats an attack after it starts and is not a preventive treatment.
Rocuronium bromide is a non-depolarising neuromuscular blocker used with general anaesthesia. It temporarily relaxes skeletal muscles to help place a breathing tube and facilitate surgery. Because breathing muscles are also affected, ventilation and specialist monitoring are essential.
Roflumilast is an oral, non-steroid anti-inflammatory treatment called a phosphodiesterase-4 inhibitor. It is used alongside bronchodilator treatment to help prevent exacerbations in selected adults with severe COPD associated with chronic bronchitis.
Romiplostim is a biological thrombopoietin-receptor agonist that helps bone marrow produce more platelets. It is used for primary immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) when previous treatments have not worked adequately.
Rosuvastatin calcium is the salt form of rosuvastatin, a prescription statin that lowers cholesterol. Alongside diet and management of other risk factors, it treats raised cholesterol and helps prevent major cardiovascular events in people at high risk.
Ruxolitinib is a topical JAK inhibitor for non-segmental vitiligo involving the face in adults and adolescents aged 12 and over. It reduces immune signalling that damages pigment-producing cells, allowing skin colour to return gradually.