SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Aug. 31 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: RIGL) today announced that James M. Gower, the company's chairman and chief executive officer, will make corporate presentations at three upcoming investor conferences:

Thomas Weisel Partners Healthcare Conference 2006
The Four Seasons Hotel, Boston, MA
Wednesday, September 6
9:10 a.m. EDT

Bear Stearns 19th Annual Healthcare Conference
The Grand Hyatt, Park Avenue, New York City
Monday, September 11
2:00 p.m. EDT

ThinkEquity Partners G4: 4th Annual Growth Conference
Ritz Carlton, San Francisco, CA
Thursday, September 14
11:00 a.m. PDT

All of the presentations will be webcast. To access the live audio webcast or the 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 diseases, cancer and viral diseases. Our goal is to file one new investigative new drug (IND) application in a significant indication each year. We have achieved this goal since 2002. Our 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 our product candidates. We have product development programs in inflammatory/autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, thrombocytopenia, and asthma and allergy, as well as in cancer.

This press release contains "forward-looking" statements, including statements related to Rigel's plans to pursue clinical development of product candidates and the timing thereof, the potential efficacy of product candidates and the sufficiency of financial resources. Any statements contained in this press release that are not statements of historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. Words such as "plans," "intends," "expects," "anticipates" and similar expressions are intended to identify these forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause Rigel's results to differ materially from those indicated by these forward-looking statements, including risks associated with the timing and success of clinical trials and the commercialization of product candidates, as well as other risks detailed from time to time in Rigel's SEC reports, including its Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2006. Rigel does not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements.

Contact: Ryan D. Maynard of Rigel, +1-650-624-1284, or invrel@rigel.com; or Carolyn Bumgardner Wang of WeissComm Partners, Inc., +1-415-946-1065, or carolyn@weisscommpartners.com, for Rigel.

SOURCE Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc.
08/31/2006

CONTACT: Ryan D. Maynard of Rigel, +1-650-624-1284, or invrel@rigel.com;
or Carolyn Bumgardner Wang of WeissComm Partners, Inc., +1-415-946-1065, or
carolyn@weisscommpartners.com