press release archive

Rigel to Present at BIO CEO & Investor Conference on February 24, 2005

South San Francisco, CA - February 17, 2005

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: RIGL) will present at the 2005 BIO CEO & Investor Conference on Thursday, February 24, 2005 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York. James M. Gower, Rigel's chairman and chief executive officer, will discuss Rigel's clinical development and research programs.

Also at the BIO CEO conference, Mr. Gower will take part in a panel session titled “Breathtaking New Drugs for COPD, Asthma and Allergies” on Thursday, February 24, 2005 at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. The panel will feature industry experts exploring changes in current treatment regimens and introduce approaches on the horizon to treating COPD, asthma and allergic rhinitis.

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 four research and development programs investigating treatments for asthma/allergy, rheumatoid arthritis, hepatitis C and oncology. Our strategy is to initiate clinical trials with at least one new product candidate annually and to pursue partnerships with pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies for late-stage clinical development and commercialization of those product candidates.

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 Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2004. Rigel does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements.

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