press release archive

Rigel to Present at the 4th Annual Fortis Bank Biotech Conference

South San Francisco, CA - April 29, 2004

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: RIGL) will present at the 4th Annual Fortis Bank Biotech Conference on Tuesday, May 4th at 2:20 p.m. (London time) at the Four Seasons Hotel in London. Raul R. Rodriguez, senior vice president for business development and commercial operations, will describe Rigel’s clinical trials addressing allergy/asthma and hepatitis C and will discuss the company’s current plans to initiate clinical development for at least one new indication each year.

About Rigel (www.rigel.com)
Rigel's mission is to become a source of novel, small-molecule drugs to address large, unmet medical needs. Rigel has initiated three clinical development programs: asthma/allergy, hepatitis C and rheumatoid arthritis. Rigel has begun clinical testing of its first two product candidates, R112 for allergic rhinitis and R803 for hepatitis C, and plans to begin clinical trials of R406 for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis by the end of 2004, to be followed by clinical trials for drug candidates in asthma and oncology.

This press release contains “forward-looking” statements, including statements related to Rigel’s plans to pursue clinical development of product candidates and the timing thereof and the potential efficacy of product candidates. 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” 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 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 Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2003. Rigel does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements.

Contact: Jim Welch
Phone: 650.624.1176
Email: invrel@rigel.com