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Rigel and Novartis Initiate Third Drug Discovery Collaboration

South San Francisco, CA - August 24, 2000

Rigel, Inc. today announced that it has entered into its third drug discovery collaboration with Novartis Pharma AG. The collaboration will focus on identifying drug targets that regulate severe respiratory diseases such as asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In June 1999, the companies agreed to collaborate on five different five-year research programs -- the first two, in the areas of immunology and autoimmune disease, are underway, with the remaining two expected to be defined within a year.

For the current project, researchers from both companies will use Rigel’s post-genomics combinatorial biology technology to seek to identify and validate small molecule drug targets that regulate lung epithelial cell function. The epithelial cells lining the respiratory passages play a key role in lung homeostasis, providing a primary structural barrier and clearing debris by ciliary beating. However, the lung epithelium is also a rich source of inflammatory mediators and mucus, whose excessive secretion contributes to airway obstruction and infection, characteristic of many chronic airway diseases.

"We look forward to working with Novartis on this, our third collaboration," said James M. Gower, President and Chief Executive Officer of Rigel, Inc. "Our work together thus far has been efficient and fruitful, having identified several interesting drug targets in our T and B cell regulation programs in only a year."

The initiation of this research project triggers an undisclosed cash payment to Rigel, which will also receive milestone and certain royalty payments relating to the development and commercialization of any therapeutics, diagnostics or vaccines resulting from the collaboration. In exchange, Novartis will retain exclusive worldwide rights to develop and market products in those areas relating to targets discovered under the collaboration.

Rigel is a post-genomics combinatorial biology company focused on discovering novel small molecule (orally-active) drugs based on the Company’s rapid drug target identification and validation technology, which it is using to develop a portfolio of drug candidates. Rigel has nine product development programs in immunology and cancer and has entered into collaboration agreements with Cell Genesys; Janssen Pharmaceutica, a Johnson & Johnson company; Novartis and Pfizer.