SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Feb. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: RIGL) today announced that James M. Gower, chairman and chief executive officer, and Ryan Maynard, executive vice president and chief financial officer of Rigel, will participate at two upcoming investor conferences. Details of the events are as follows:

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Citi 2012 Global Health Care Conference
Date: Monday, February 27 at 1:30 p.m. ET
Location: New York, NY
Presenter – Ryan Maynard

32nd Annual Cowen and Company Health Care Conference
Date: Monday, March 5 at 1:30 p.m. ET
Location: Boston, MA
Presenter – James M. Gower

Both events will be webcast live and can be accessed at www.rigel.com.  Please connect to Rigel's website several minutes prior to the start of the live webcast to ensure adequate time for any software download that may be necessary.

About Rigel (www.rigel.com)

Rigel is a clinical-stage drug development company that discovers and develops novel, small-molecule drugs for the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, as well as muscle disorders. Rigel's pioneering research focuses on intracellular signaling pathways and related targets that are critical to disease mechanisms. Rigel's productivity has resulted in strategic collaborations with large pharmaceutical partners to develop and market its product candidates. Current product development programs include fostamatinib, an oral SYK inhibitor that is in Phase 3 clinical trials for rheumatoid arthritis, R343, an inhaled SYK inhibitor that has completed Phase 1 clinical trials for asthma, R548, an oral JAK3 inhibitor for the treatment of transplant rejection and other immune disorders, and R333, a topical JAK/SYK inhibitor for the treatment of discoid lupus.

Contact: Ryan Maynard
Phone: 650.624.1284
Email: invrel@rigel.com

SOURCE Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc.