press release archive

Rigel to Present at the Thomas Weisel Partners Healthcare Tailwinds Conference on September 8, 2004

South San Francisco, CA - September 02, 2004

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: RIGL) will present at the Thomas Weisel Partners Healthcare Tailwinds 2004 Conference on Wednesday, September 8th at 3:15 p.m. (Eastern time) at the Four Seasons Boston in Salon B. James M. Gower, Rigel's chairman and chief executive officer will discuss Rigel's clinical trials addressing allergy and hepatitis C, as well as, outline the company's current plans to initiate clinical development for at least one new indication each year.

To access the live audio webcast or the subsequent archived recording, 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 four development programs: asthma/allergy, hepatitis C, rheumatoid arthritis and oncology. Our first two product candidates, R112 for allergic rhinitis and R803 for hepatitis C, are in clinical testing. We expect to begin clinical trials of R406 for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis by the end of 2004, to be followed by initiation of clinical trials with additional product candidates for indications in oncology and asthma.

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 June 30, 2004. Rigel does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements.