SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif.,
Nov. 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/
-- Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq:RIGL) today announced
James M. Gower is retiring from the
board of directors and from his positions as chairman and chief
executive officer, and Raul
Rodriguez, most recently serving as the company's president
and chief operating officer, will assume the position of chief
executive officer and join the board of directors.
Gary Lyons, a member of Rigel's
Board of Directors since 2005, will become chairman. Mr. Gower is
expected to remain an employee until the end of the year and,
thereafter will be a consultant to the company providing advice on
strategy, business development and other matters.
"We are grateful to Jim for his many years of commitment to
Rigel and his role in fostering the company's growth," said
Gary Lyons, chairman of Rigel's
board of directors. Mr. Lyons noted that Mr. Gower and Mr.
Rodriguez have been working together towards this transition.
"We are confident in Raul's capabilities and readiness to lead
Rigel into the next phase of growth," added Mr. Lyons.
Mr. Gower joined Rigel as president and chief executive officer
in January 1997. He was named
chairman of the board in October
2001. Under his guidance, Rigel grew from a small startup to
a significant developer of small molecule therapeutics for a range
of immune and metabolic disorders. Mr. Gower is a widely
respected and well known leader in the biotech community, having
previously served as president and chief executive officer of
Tularik, Inc. (later acquired by Amgen), and as senior vice
president at Genentech Inc. prior to its merger with Roche.
Mr. Rodriguez joined Rigel in April
2000 as vice president of business development. He was named
executive vice president and chief operating officer in
June 2004, and has been president and
chief operating officer since May 2010. In addition to
overseeing the day-to-day operations of Rigel, Mr. Rodriguez has
been pivotal in developing relationships with biopharmaceutical
industry leaders and observers, speaking on behalf of the company
and the industry at major events. Prior to joining Rigel, Mr.
Rodriguez held senior management, business development and
operations roles at Ontogeny, Inc. and Scios, Inc. He began
his career at G.D. Searle & Company. He holds an A.B.
from Harvard College, a Masters of
Public Health from the University of
Illinois, and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of
Business.
Mr. Lyons became a member of the board of directors of Rigel in
October 2005. He serves on the
board of directors of Neurocrine Bioscience, Inc., after having
been the founding President and Chief Executive Officer from 1993
to 2008. Mr Lyons also serves as a member of the board of
directors and as a strategic advisor to a number of public and
private biotechnology companies.
About Rigel (www.rigel.com)
Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 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 currently has the following
product candidates in development: fostamatinib, an oral SYK
inhibitor, which is in Phase 3 clinical trials for ITP and is
expected to enter a Phase 2 clinical trial for IgAN in the second
half of 2014; R348, a topical JAK/SYK inhibitor, in a Phase 2
clinical trial for dry eye in GvHD; and two oncology product
candidates in Phase 1 development with partners BerGenBio AS and
Daiichi Sankyo.
This release contains forward-looking statements relating to,
among other things, the continuation of Mr. Gower as an employee
and future consultant of Rigel. 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 "planned,"
"will," "may," "expect," and similar expressions are intended to
identify these forward-looking statements. These forward-looking
statements are based on Rigel's current expectations and inherently
involve significant risks and uncertainties. Actual results and the
timing of events could differ materially from those anticipated in
such forward looking statements as a result of these risks and
uncertainties, which include, without limitation, the availability
of resources to develop Rigel's product candidates, Rigel's need
for additional capital in the future to sufficiently fund Rigel's
operations and research, the uncertain timing of completion of and
the success of clinical trials, market competition, risks
associated with and Rigel's dependence on Rigel's corporate
partnerships, as well as other risks detailed from time to time in
Rigel's reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission,
including its Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended
September 30, 2014. Rigel does not
undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements and
expressly disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release
publicly any updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements
contained herein.
Contact: Raul Rodriguez
Phone: 650.624.1302
Email: invrel@rigel.com
Media Contact: Susan C. Rogers,
Rivily, Inc.
Phone: 650.430.3777
Email: susan@rivily.com
To view the original version on PR Newswire,
visit:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/rigel-announces-executive-management-changes-300000031.html
SOURCE Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc.