press release archive

Rigel to Present at Two Investor Conferences

Thomas Weisel Partners Growth Forum 6.0
Needham Third Annual Biotechnology Conference

South San Francisco - June 10, 2004

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: RIGL) announced today that James M. Gower, Rigel’s chairman and chief executive officer, will present at two investor conferences next week:

Thomas Weisel Partners Growth Forum 6.0 on Tuesday, June 15th at 10:30 a.m. (Pacific time)

Needham Third Annual Biotechnology Conference on Thursday, June 17th at 9:30 a.m. (Eastern time) at the Palace Hotel in New York City.

Mr. Gower will discuss Rigel’s clinical trials addressing allergy and hepatitis C, and will outline the company’s current plans to initiate clinical development for at least one new indication each year.

To access the live audio webcasts or the subsequent archived recordings, log on to www.rigel.com/rigel/events. Please connect to Rigel's website several minutes prior to the start of the conference call to ensure adequate time for any software download that may be necessary.

About Rigel (www.rigel.com)
Rigel's mission is to become a source of novel, small-molecule drugs to address large, unmet medical needs. We have initiated three 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 expects 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 and its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2004. Rigel does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements.

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