Rigel Announces Fourth Quarter and Year End 2007 Financi...( SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO Calif. Feb. 1...)

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Feb. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: RIGL) today announced financial results for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2007.

For the fourth quarter of 2007, Rigel reported a net loss of $19.0 million, or $0.61 per share, compared to a net loss of $15.5 million, or $0.62 per share, in the fourth quarter of 2006. Weighted average shares outstanding for the fourth quarter of 2007 and 2006 were 31.1 million and 25.1 million, respectively.

Rigel reported revenue from collaborations of $8.0 million in the fourth quarter of 2007, compared to $3.1 million reported in the fourth quarter of 2006. Revenue in the fourth quarter of 2007 included a $3.0 million milestone payment from Merck Serono for licensing rights in Japan for Rigel's cancer drug candidate, R763, and a $5.0 million milestone payment from Pfizer for the initiation of its Phase 1 clinical trial for R343, a syk kinase inhibitor for the treatment of allergic asthma.

Total operating expenses were $28.3 million in the fourth quarter of 2007, compared to operating expenses of $20.0 million during the same period in 2006. The increase was due to increases in research and development expenditures made in support of Rigel's ongoing clinical programs, including the Phase 2 clinical trial for R788 in rheumatoid arthritis, which was completed in the fourth quarter of 2007, and personnel costs associated with Rigel's 2007 cash incentive plan. Non-cash stock-based compensation represented $2.6 million of total operating expenses in the fourth quarter of 2007, compared to $2.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2006.

For the year ended December 31, 2007, Rigel had revenue of $12.6 million and a net los
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