SOUTH
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., March 12,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Rigel Pharmaceuticals,
Inc. (Nasdaq: RIGL) today announced the appointment of Lisa
Rojkjaer, M.D. as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical
Officer. Dr. Rojkjaer is an industry veteran with over 20 years of
clinical development, regulatory, and medical affairs experience
with a focus on hematology and oncology. She is a board-certified
hematologist with an international clinical practice
background.
"It is a pleasure to welcome Lisa to the team. She brings
to Rigel a strong combination of industry leadership
experience paired with drug development and regulatory affairs
expertise. Her robust hematology and oncology knowledge complements
our existing leadership team and supports the growth of Rigel's
clinical portfolio," said Raul
Rodriguez, Rigel's president and CEO. "We welcome Dr.
Rojkjaer to the team during an exciting time for Rigel's clinical
programs, including our recently announced collaborations with MD
Anderson and CONNECT to expand the evaluation of olutasidenib in a
broad range of IDH1-mutant cancers and our ongoing Phase
1b trial of R289 being developed for
patients with lower-risk myeloid dysplastic syndrome
(LR-MDS)."
"I am thrilled to join the leadership team at this important
time for Rigel as its commercial portfolio and development pipeline
of hematology and oncology assets are generating significant
momentum," said Dr. Rojkjaer. "The compelling science underlying
Rigel's programs, coupled with their commercial expertise and
focus, position the company to bring potential new therapies to
patient populations with significant unmet need."
Prior to joining Rigel, Dr. Rojkjaer held several leadership
positions in clinical development and medical affairs at
biotechnology and global pharmaceutical companies, having most
recently served as Chief Medical Officer of Sangamo Therapeutics.
Prior to Sangamo, she held the role of Chief Medical Officer at
both Viracta Therapeutics and Nordic Nanovector, where she led
clinical and regulatory strategies across a broad range of
hematology and oncology programs. Dr. Rojkjaer also served as
Global Clinical Program Head at Novartis Pharmaceuticals where she
led development and supported the regulatory approval of
Rydapt®, a multikinase inhibitor for the treatment of
FLT3 mutation-positive AML. Other previous roles include Chief
Medical Officer at Molecular Partners, Vice President, Head of
Clinical Development at MorphoSys AG, and Director of Clinical
Development and Head, Global Medical Affairs, Biopharmaceuticals at
Novo Nordisk. Dr. Rojkjaer holds a Doctor of Medicine degree from
the University of Toronto, where she
also completed her internal medicine and hematology
fellowships.
About Rigel
Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: RIGL)
is a biotechnology company dedicated to discovering, developing and
providing novel therapies that significantly improve the lives of
patients with hematologic disorders and cancer. Founded in 1996,
Rigel is based in South San Francisco,
California. For more information on Rigel, the Company's
marketed products and pipeline of potential products, visit
www.rigel.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release
contains forward-looking statements relating to, among other
things, Rigel's ability to further develop its clinical stage
programs and Rigel's partnering effort, including the progress of
the Phase 1b clinical trial of
R289 for the treatment of lower-risk myeloid dysplastic syndrome,
the evaluation of olutasidenib in a broad range of
IDH1-mutant cancers with the CONNECT and MD Anderson
collaborations, and the commercialization of our products. Any
statements contained in this press release that are not statements
of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements.
Forward -looking statements can be identified by words such as
"potential", "may", "expects", "will" and similar expressions in
reference to future periods. Forward-looking statements are neither
historical facts nor assurances of future performance. Instead,
they are based on Rigel's current beliefs, expectations, and
assumptions and hence they inherently involve significant risks,
uncertainties and changes in circumstances that are
difficult to predict and many of which are outside of our
control. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these
forward-looking statements. 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, risks and
uncertainties associated with the commercialization and marketing
of fostamatinib or olutasidenib; risks that the FDA, European
Medicines Agency, PMDA or other regulatory authorities may make
adverse decisions regarding Rigel's products; risks that clinical
trials may not be predictive of real-world results or of results in
subsequent clinical trials; risks that Rigel's products may have
unintended side effects, adverse reactions or incidents of misuses;
the availability of resources to develop Rigel's product
candidates; market competition; as well as other risks detailed
from time to time in Rigel's reports filed with the Securities and
Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10K for
the year ended 2023 and subsequent filings. Any forward-looking
statement made by us in this press release is based
only on information currently available to us and speaks only as of
the date on which it is made. Rigel does not undertake any
obligation to update forward-looking statements, whether written or
oral, that may be made from time to time, whether as a result of
new information, future developments or otherwise, and expressly
disclaims any obligation or undertaking to release publicly any
updates or revisions to any forward-looking statements contained
herein, except as required by law.
Contact for Investors & Media:
Investors:
Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
650.624.1232
ir@rigel.com
Media:
David
Rosen
Argot Partners
212.600.1902
david.rosen@argotpartners.com
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SOURCE Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc.