press release archive

Rigel Announces 2002 Fiscal Year Financial Results

Company Provides Outlook for 2003 Clinical Progress

South San Francisco, Calif. - February 05, 2003

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: RIGL) today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2002.

For the fourth quarter of 2002, revenues were $3.7 million, compared to $4.8 million for the fourth quarter of 2001. Revenues for the 2002 fiscal year were $15.8 million, compared to $15.3 million for fiscal 2001. Revenues were derived from research collaborations with pharmaceutical partners.

Total operating expenses for the fourth quarter of 2002 were $11.7 million, compared to $11.0 million for the same period of 2001. For the full year, total operating expenses were $52.8 million, compared to $40.3 million for 2001. The increase in expenses reflected the cost of additional clinical development personnel as well as an increase in expenses associated with the start of clinical testing for Rigel's first product candidate. Net loss for the fourth quarter was $8.1 million, or $0.18 per share, compared to a net loss of $6.1 million, or $0.16 per share, for the fourth quarter of 2001. Net loss for 2002 was $37.0 million, or $0.82 per share, compared to a net loss of $23.8 million, or $0.64 per share, for fiscal 2001.

As of December 31, 2002, Rigel had cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $27.3 million, compared to $36.5 million at the end of the third quarter of 2002 and $33.4 million at the end of 2001. Cash at the end of 2001 did not include the $31.5 million net proceeds of common stock offerings in the first quarter of 2002.

Clinical Progress in 2002 and Development Plans for 2003
In 2002, Rigel achieved significant milestones in both the company's proprietary drug development programs and in its partnerships and set the stage for further accomplishments in 2003:

• Rigel began clinical testing in the United Kingdom of its first compound, R112, the first of a potential new class of drug for allergic rhinitis. The next stage of clinical testing began last month in the United States. Rigel expects to have efficacy data from this study available towards mid-year.
• Rigel selected for development, and began preclinical testing of, an antiviral compound for the treatment of hepatitis C. Rigel expects to move this compound, R803, into the clinic in the second half of the year.
• Rigel presented new data at prestigious scientific conferences in the areas of hepatitis C and cancer research.
• At the International Symposium on Hepatitis C and Related Viruses, Rigel presented compelling experimental findings showing that R803 significantly inhibited replication of multiple strains of the hepatitis C virus.
• At meetings held by the National Cancer Institute and the American Association of Cancer Research, Rigel presented data about the company's seminal research in the area of ligases, a new category of cancer drug targets. Rigel believes that its ligase program is the most advanced in this field.
• Rigel entered into a research collaboration with Daiichi Pharmaceuticals Co., Ltd. to discover and develop new oncology therapeutics in the area of protein degradation, a field related to Rigel's proprietary ligase program. This agreement represents the first industry collaboration in ligase-related research, showcasing Rigel's lead in this emerging area of cancer drug development.
• Rigel and Johnson & Johnson Pharmaceutical Research and Development agreed to extend the research phase of their collaboration in oncology for an additional two years.
• Rigel delivered six additional validated drug targets to Pfizer as part of the companies' research collaboration in asthma/allergy.
• Rigel delivered to Novartis a validated drug target in the area of autoimmune disease. Rigel has two remaining research collaborations with Novartis, one in angiogenesis and another in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Looking ahead to 2003, in addition to expected milestones in the allergy and hepatitis C drug development programs, Rigel plans to have a third proprietary compound in the clinic by the end of the year. This drug candidate is expected to come from the same research program as R112 and is expected to treat an autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis.

"We believe that our success in producing a range of preclinical and clinical drug candidates, all from our own efforts and within a period of only six years from the inception of the company, really distinguishes Rigel from our peers," said Jim Gower, Rigel's chief executive officer. "In addition, with the recently announced restructuring, we have directed our resources squarely on the advancement of our development programs."

About Rigel
Rigel's mission is to become a source of novel, small-molecule drugs to meet large, unmet medical needs. The company's business model is to develop a portfolio of drug candidates and to take these through phase II clinical trials, after which Rigel intends to seek commercialization partners for completion of clinical evaluation, regulatory approval and marketing. Rigel has identified three areas for its lead product research programs: mast cell inhibition to treat immunologic diseases such as asthma/allergy and autoimmune disorders, antiviral agents to treat hepatitis C, and ubiquitin ligases, a new class of cancer drug targets. Rigel has begun clinical testing of its first product candidate, for allergic rhinitis, and plans to follow this by advancing two additional drug candidates into the clinic by the end of 2003. Rigel's approach to drug discovery is based on advanced, proprietary functional genomics techniques that allow the company to identify targets with a demonstrable role in a disease pathway and to efficiently screen for those that are likely to be amenable to drug modulation.

This press release contains "forward-looking" statements, including statements related to Rigel's business strategy, drug development programs and clinical trial plans. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Words such as "plans," "intends," "expects," "believes," "projects," "anticipates" and similar expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause Rigel's results to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements, including the risks detailed from time to time in Rigel's SEC reports, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2001 and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2002. Rigel does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements.