SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Dec. 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: RIGL) today announced that it has appointed Kamil Ali-Jackson to the company's Board of Directors.  Ms. Ali-Jackson brings nearly four decades of biopharmaceutical industry experience to Rigel, including expertise in negotiating licensing, joint-venture, and M&A transactions to drive strategic growth.

"Kamil is a savvy businessperson, has a sharp transactional mind, and is a serial entrepreneur who brings immense experience to our board," said Raul Rodriguez, president and CEO of Rigel. "Her experience as an international transaction attorney, litigator, biotech founder, and pharmaceutical executive makes her a valuable addition to the Rigel team as we focus our business on mid to late-stage hematology, oncology, and immunology therapies for the patients we serve." 

Ms. Ali-Jackson currently serves as the chief legal officer, chief compliance officer, and corporate secretary for publicly traded Aclaris Therapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that she co-founded in 2012 and led the team which took the company public in 2015. She will be retiring from her role at Aclaris on January 3, 2022.

Ms. Ali-Jackson has extensive transaction experience with companies such as Merck & Co., Inc., Endo Pharmaceuticals, Inc., and Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, Inc., including negotiating acquisitions of intellectual property assets and licensing agreements for drug products in various stages of development across multiple therapeutic areas. She was the lead negotiator for the acquisition of intellectual property rights for Merck's billion-dollar human papillomavirus vaccine and legal counsel for its gastroenterology product franchise, which led to the creation of a multi-billion joint venture between Merck and Astra AB that then became part of AstraZeneca.

Previously, Ms. Ali-Jackson co-founded and served as chief legal officer, chief compliance officer, and general counsel for several other private biopharmaceutical or specialty pharmaceutical companies, including Ceptaris Therapeutics, Inc. and Ception Therapeutics, Inc., both of which were successfully acquired in multimillion-dollar acquisitions.  She is currently a member of the board of directors, audit and compensation committees, and is the chair of the nominating and corporate governance committee of PDS Biotechnology Corporation, a publicly-traded clinical-stage immunotherapy company, as well as on the board of other private companies. She is also an adjunct lecturer at the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School. She received her J.D. from Harvard Law School and her undergraduate degree in politics from Princeton University.

"Throughout my career, my goal has always been to be a significant contributor to the success of the businesses and projects I touch," said Ms. Ali-Jackson. "I'm excited to work with the Rigel management team and other board members in supporting the growth of a therapeutic portfolio that is singularly focused on addressing the needs of patients."

About Rigel
Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a biotechnology company dedicated to developing and commercializing novel small molecule drugs that significantly improve the lives of patients with hematologic disorders, cancer and rare immune diseases. Rigel's pioneering research focuses on signaling pathways that are critical to disease mechanisms. The company's first FDA-approved product is TAVALISSE^® (fostamatinib disodium hexahydrate) tablets, the only oral spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) inhibitor for the treatment of adult patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenia who have had an insufficient response to a previous treatment. The product is also commercially available in Europe, the United Kingdom (TAVLESSE) and Canada (TAVALISSE) for the treatment of chronic immune thrombocytopenia in adult patients.

Fostamatinib is currently being studied in a Phase 3 clinical trial (NCT03764618) for the treatment of warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia (wAIHA)¹; a Phase 3 clinical trial (NCT04629703) for the treatment of hospitalized high-risk patients with COVID-19¹; an NIH/NHLBI-funded Phase 3 clinical trial (ACTIV-4 Host Tissue Trial, NCT04924660) for the treatment of COVID-19 in hospitalized patients, and a Phase 2 clinical trial (NCT04581954) for the treatment of COVID-19 being conducted by Imperial College London.

Rigel's other clinical programs include its interleukin receptor-associated kinase (IRAK) inhibitor program and a receptor-interacting serine/threonine-protein kinase (RIP1) inhibitor program in clinical development with partner Eli Lilly and Company. In addition, Rigel has product candidates in development with partners AstraZeneca, BerGenBio ASA, and Daiichi Sankyo.

For further information, visit www.rigel.com or follow us on Twitter or LinkedIn.

Please see www.TAVALISSE.com for full Prescribing Information.

¹The product for this use or indication is investigational and has not been proven safe or effective by any regulatory authority.

Contact for Investors and Media:
Jodi Sievers – Rigel Pharmaceuticals
Phone: +1 (650) 624-1232
Email: ir@rigel.com

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SOURCE Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc.