Rigel Pharmaceuticals Announces Appointment of Lisa Rojkjaer, M.D. as Chief Medical Officer

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

[email protected] 

Media:

David Rosen

Argot Partners

212.600.1902

[email protected]

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SOURCE Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc.