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.

Daniel O'Day to lead Roche Pharma as Pascal Soriot moves to AstraZeneca

Daniel O'Day.

Daniel O’Day, the former president and CEO of Roche Molecular Diagnostics in Pleasanton, will become chief operating officer of Roche Pharma as Pascal Soriot, who oversaw the tricky integration of Genentech Inc. into Roche, takes the helm of rival drug maker AstraZeneca. O’Day’s appointment is an important one, underscoring the Swiss drug maker’s commitment to developing companion diagnostics for its drugs. As COO of Roche Diagnostics since 2010, he has been a member of Roche’s executive committee. Roche CEO Severin Schwan noted in a press release late Monday night that O’Day has “a very impressive track record” in diagnostics and pharmaceuticals.

Rigel, AstraZeneca strike potential $100M asthma drug deal

AstraZeneca will license an experimental asthma treatment from South San Francisco’s Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc. in a potential $100 million deal, Rigel said Tuesday.

Initially, Rigel (NASDAQ: RIGL) will receive only $1 million upfront in the worldwide licensing deal for the inhaled drug, called R-256. But Rigel could receive an additional $8.25 million in early milestone payments by the end of 2013, the company said.

Preclinical studies of R-256 indicate that it could improve lung function for patients with moderate to severe chronic asthma.

Rigel moving asthma drug into mid-stage trial

Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc. will move an asthma drug into a Phase II trial. At the American Thoracic Society Conference in San Francisco, Rigel (NASDAQ: RIGL) said enrollment in the 276-patient trial will begin later this summer in patients with mild to moderate asthma. The trial would collect its final data in September 2013, according to ClinicalTrials.gov.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals to raise $25M in stock sale

Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc. registered with regulators for a stock sale worth up to $25 million.
The South San Francisco company (NASDAQ: RIGL) is working on a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis along with AstraZeneca AB, and also an inhaled treatment for allergic asthma.

Pfizer returns allergy drug to Rigel

Pfizer Inc. returned rights to an early-stage asthma drug to Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc. — at least the third such move involving a Bay Area biopharmaceutical company in the past couple of weeks.
R-343, targeting allergic asthma, recently completed several Phase I trials, but South San Francisco’s Rigel (NASDAQ: RIGL) said Pfizer (NYSE: PFE) decided to return the drug is based on the giant drug maker’s decision to exit R&D for allergy and respiratory drug.