SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 28, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: RIGL) today announced that James M. Gower, the company's chairman and chief executive officer, is scheduled to present a company overview at three investment conferences during the month of March.  Details of each conference are as follows:

Citi Global Health Care Conference

Date: Wednesday, March 2nd at 1:30 p.m. ET

Location: New York, NY

Cowen and Company 31st Annual Health Care Conference

Date: Tuesday, March 8th at 1:20 p.m. ET

Location: Boston, MA

Barclays Capital Global Healthcare Conference

Date: Thursday, March 17th at 10:45 a.m. ET

Location: Miami Beach, FL

All three presentations will be webcast.  To access live audio webcast or subsequent archived recording, log on to www.rigel.com. Please connect to Rigel's website several minutes prior to the start of the live webcast to ensure adequate time for any software download that may be necessary.

About Rigel (www.rigel.com)

Rigel is a clinical-stage drug development company that discovers and develops novel, small-molecule drugs for the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, as well as muscle disorders. Rigel's pioneering research focuses on intracellular signaling pathways and related targets that are critical to disease mechanisms. Rigel's productivity has resulted in strategic collaborations with large pharmaceutical partners to develop and market its product candidates. Current product development programs include fostamatinib, an oral syk inhibitor that has started its phase 3 clinical trial program for RA (with AstraZeneca), and R343, an inhaled syk inhibitor in clinical trials for asthma (with Pfizer).

Contact: Ryan Maynard

Phone: 650.624.1284

Email: invrel@rigel.com

SOURCE Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc.