Rigel Pharmaceuticals NASDAQ: RIGL reported first-quarter 2026 results that management said reflected continued year-over-year growth across its three-product portfolio, while reiterating full-year guidance and highlighting upcoming data milestones for its R289 program in lower-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS).
First-quarter sales rise 26% year over year amid seasonal headwinds
President and CEO Raul Rodriguez said Rigel generated “net product sales of just under $55 million,” up 26% from the first quarter of 2025. He noted the quarter was impacted by “seasonal factors, including reimbursement dynamics,” which the company has historically seen in January and February, and said the company observed “improving demand in March.”
Chief Commercial Officer Dave Santos echoed that first-quarter net sales were affected by typical reimbursement dynamics such as “resetting of deductibles, co-pays, and other access delays for Medicare patients with plan changes that took effect in January.” Santos said March showed stronger volume “across our product portfolio.”
Rigel reported first-quarter U.S. net product sales of $54.9 million, up $11.3 million from the prior-year period. By product, Santos detailed:
- TAVALISSE: $37.3 million in net product sales, up 31% year over year, driven by “both stronger demand and a favorable gross to net versus last year.” He also referenced a 2025 “one-time influx of patients” tied to Medicare affordability changes.
- GAVRETO: $9.6 million in net product sales, up 7% year over year. Santos described GAVRETO as “a stable contributing product in our portfolio.”
- REZLIDHIA: $8.0 million in net product sales, up 31% year over year, with the company seeing “continued building of breadth and depth in academic accounts” and an emphasis on community adoption.
Guidance maintained; Rigel reiterates expectation for 2026 profitability
Rodriguez said the company expects to return to sequential growth beginning in the second quarter, “driven by improving demand trends,” and maintained its 2026 revenue guidance. Chief Financial Officer Dean Schorno reiterated the outlook: total revenue of $275 million to $290 million, including net product sales of $255 million to $265 million and contract revenues of $20 million to $25 million.
Rodriguez also said Rigel “remain[s] on track to achieve net income profitability in 2026.” Schorno added that the company anticipates “positive net income for the full year while funding existing and new clinical development opportunities.”
Earnings, expenses, and cash position
Schorno reported total revenue of $58.8 million for the quarter, consisting of $54.9 million in net product sales and $3.9 million in contract revenues. Contract revenue included $1.8 million from Grifols for earned royalties, $1.8 million from GISAID related to delivery of drug supplies, and $300,000 from Medison tied to drug supply and earned royalties, he said.
Cost of product sales was approximately $4.6 million. Total costs and expenses were $46.9 million, compared to $40.6 million in the first quarter of 2025. Schorno attributed the increase primarily to “increased research and development costs driven by the timing of clinical activities related to R289,” as well as “increased commercial-related expenses and personnel-related costs.”
Income before income taxes was $11.7 million. Net income was $8.7 million, compared with net income of $11.4 million in the prior-year quarter. Rigel ended the quarter with $146.7 million in cash, cash equivalents, and short-term investments, down from $155.0 million at the end of 2025.
Pipeline update: R289 dose expansion underway; top-line update targeted by end of 2026
Chief Medical Officer Lisa Rojkjaer focused her R&D update on R289, a dual IRAK1/IRAK4 inhibitor in development for lower-risk MDS, and ongoing investigator-sponsored efforts to expand the use of olutasidenib (REZLIDHIA) beyond relapsed or refractory IDH1-mutated AML.
Rojkjaer said the Phase 1b study of R289 in relapsed or refractory lower-risk MDS is progressing, with the dose expansion portion enrolling. In the ongoing expansion, up to 40 transfusion-dependent patients are randomized to 500 mg once daily or 500 mg twice daily to select a recommended Phase 2 dose, she said.
Reviewing previously presented dose-escalation data from the American Society of Hematology meeting in December, Rojkjaer said 33 patients were enrolled, with a median age of 75 and a median of three prior therapies. Approximately 70% had received prior luspatercept and hypomethylating agents, and the majority had a high baseline transfusion burden, she said.
She described R289 as generally well-tolerated, with “a low incidence of grade 3 or 4 cytopenias and infections.” One dose-limiting toxicity was reported: a grade 3/4 AST/ALT increase at the 750 mg daily dose level, she said.
Among 18 evaluable patients receiving 500 mg daily or higher, Rojkjaer said six patients (33%) achieved red blood cell transfusion independence lasting eight weeks or longer. She added that in four patients transfusion independence lasted more than 16 weeks, and in three patients it lasted more than six months, with a median duration of about 23 weeks and a median time to onset of roughly two months.
Looking ahead, Rojkjaer said Rigel plans to complete enrollment in dose expansion and select the recommended Phase 2 dose in the second half of 2026. The company “anticipate[s] sharing an update on the study, including top-line data from the dose expansion phase, by the end of 2026,” and plans to discuss a potential registration study with the FDA following completion of Phase 1b, potentially initiating a registration study in 2027.
Business development and collaboration updates
Rodriguez said Rigel continues to evaluate late-stage in-licensing or acquisition opportunities, targeting assets that are “NDA-ready for filing or are already under review or are already approved,” with potential launches between 2026 and 2028. He said the company prioritizes opportunities where it can leverage existing infrastructure to accelerate revenue contribution and generate cash.
Schorno also disclosed two corporate updates. He said Rigel received notice in mid-April from Eli Lilly that Lilly will terminate the companies’ collaboration involving olgotinib (previously R552), a RIPK1 asset evaluated in a Phase 2 rheumatoid arthritis study, with termination effective June 15, 2026. The CNS portion of the collaboration had been terminated in November 2025, he said. Schorno added that Rigel’s revenue guidance does not assume any Lilly collaboration revenue and said the termination “does not impact our ability to finance our operations.”
In response to an analyst question, Rodriguez said the RIPK1 program was not a strategic focus for Rigel, describing the company as “a hematology oncology-focused company.” He said Rigel pursued the collaboration because RIPK1’s primary focus is in immunology and CNS diseases, areas he said were better suited to a larger pharmaceutical partner. With the rights returning, he said Rigel will “assess what to do as a next step.”
Schorno also said Rigel restructured its debt agreement with MidCap Financial, replacing an existing term loan with a revolving credit facility. The company repaid the remaining $40 million term loan balance and established a $40 million revolver with an option to increase to $60 million, subject to conditions. Rigel has drawn $8 million under the new facility, Schorno said.
About Rigel Pharmaceuticals NASDAQ: RIGL
Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company headquartered in South San Francisco, California. Founded in 2003, Rigel focuses on the discovery, development and commercialization of novel small molecule therapeutics targeting immune, hematologic and oncologic diseases. Leveraging a proprietary chemistry platform and expertise in signal transduction pathways, the company aims to address significant unmet medical needs in both rare and common disorders.
Rigel's lead product, fostamatinib (commercially known as Tavalisse®), is an oral spleen tyrosine kinase (SYK) inhibitor approved in the United States for the treatment of adult patients with chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP).
Featured Articles
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
Before you consider Rigel Pharmaceuticals, you'll want to hear this.
MarketBeat keeps track of Wall Street's top-rated and best performing research analysts and the stocks they recommend to their clients on a daily basis. MarketBeat has identified the five stocks that top analysts are quietly whispering to their clients to buy now before the broader market catches on... and Rigel Pharmaceuticals wasn't on the list.
While Rigel Pharmaceuticals currently has a Moderate Buy rating among analysts, top-rated analysts believe these five stocks are better buys.
View The Five Stocks Here
MarketBeat's analysts have just released their top five short plays for May 2026. Learn which stocks have the most short interest and how to trade them. Click the link to see which companies made the list.
Get This Free Report
