The RIGL pr -
SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Nov. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: RIGL - News) today announced that it has entered into a nonexclusive licensing agreement with Chiron Corporation (Nasdaq: CHIR - News) granting Rigel a license to discover, develop and commercialize small molecule therapeutics against certain hepatitis C virus (HCV) drug targets. The financial terms and other details of the license were not disclosed.
"Today's agreement provides Rigel with the flexibility to pursue our innovative HCV research program and develop potential breakthrough treatments for HCV," stated James M. Gower, chairman and chief executive officer. "We believe that Rigel's lead drug candidate, R803, has the potential to become an anchor of therapeutic approaches to treating this intractable virus."
The prevalence of HCV infection in the United States has been estimated at nearly 4 million, with approximately 170 million infected worldwide.(1) Rigel's lead HCV small-molecule drug candidate, R803, rapidly and selectively targets HCV and potentially stops replication of the virus by interfering with the viral polymerase, a protein needed for viral replication. Rigel believes that R803 will be one of the first direct antivirals to enter development and is substantially different from interferon alpha, the main current therapy, which primarily works indirectly to boost the immune system.
Rigel HCV Analyst/Investor Briefing
Rigel will host an analyst/investor day on Wednesday, November 19, 2003, at 10:00 a.m. Eastern Time at the W Hotel in New York City. The day will be devoted to the topic, "Hepatitis C: Treatment, Progress and Opportunities." Featured speakers will include: Jules L. Dienstag, M.D., professor of medicine, associate dean for Academic and Clinical Programs, Harvard Medical School; Charles M. Rice, Ph.D., Maurice R. and Corinne P. Greenberg professor, and head, Laboratory of Virology and Infectious Disease, The Rockefeller University; and Rigel Senior Management. For additional information or to RSVP for the analyst day please email: hepc@rigel.com; call: 650-624-1181; or visit Rigel's Website at rigel.com . |
