press release archive

Rigel Pharmaceuticals to Present at CIBC World Markets' Fourteenth Annual Healthcare Conference

South San Francisco, CA - November 10, 2003

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: RIGL) today announced that Raul R. Rodriguez, Rigel’s Senior Vice President of Business Development and Commercial Operations, is scheduled to present at the CIBC World Markets’ Fourteenth Annual Healthcare Conference at 3:00 p.m. Eastern Time on November 12, 2003, at The Plaza Hotel in New York City.

For those who are unable to attend the conference, there will be a live audio webcast of Mr. Rodriguez’s presentation which can be accessed by going to www.veracast.com. The webcast will automatically be archived approximately three hours after the live event and will be available for 30 days afterward.

About Rigel (www.rigel.com)
Rigel's mission is to become a source of novel, small-molecule drugs to meet large, unmet medical needs. Rigel has identified three lead product development programs: mast cell inhibition to treat immunologic diseases such as asthma/allergy and autoimmune disorders, antiviral agents to treat hepatitis C, and ligases, a new class of cancer drug targets. Rigel has begun clinical testing of its first product candidate, R112, for allergic rhinitis, and plans to begin clinical trials of three additional drug candidates for the treatment of hepatitis C, rheumatoid arthritis and asthma, by the end of 2004.

This press release contains “forward-looking” statements, including statements related to the timing and subject matter of future clinical trials. 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” and similar expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause Rigel’s results and plans to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements, including risks associated with the timing and success of clinical trials and the commercialization of product candidates, as well as other risks, detailed from time to time in Rigel’s SEC reports, including its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2003 and Annual Report on Form 10-K, as amended, for the year ended December 31, 2002. Rigel does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements.

Rigel Contact: Raul Rodriguez (1-650-624-1302)