Rheumatoid arthritis drug kick-starts Rigel, AstraZeneca

Rigel's Don Payan (left) and Raul Rodriguez.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc. is in strange territory. After spending nearly $700 million over 16 years developing drugs, the low-key South San Francisco biotech company has an experimental rheumatoid arthritis drug swiftly heading toward a date with the FDA. The drug, however, may be just as important to Rigel’s Big Pharma partner.