press release archive

Rigel to Present at the Lehman Brothers Eighth Annual Global Healthcare Conference on March 31, 2005

South San Francisco, CA - March 24, 2005

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: RIGL) James M. Gower, Rigel’s chairman and chief executive officer is scheduled to present a corporate overview at the Lehman Brothers Eighth Annual Global Healthcare Conference on Thursday, March 31, 2005 at 5:15 p.m. The event will be held at the Loews Hotel in Miami Beach from March 30-April 1.

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 Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2004. Rigel does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements.

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