Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIGL) reported a growth of 47% YoY to $16 million in Q2 2020. Its overall expenses and costs in Q2 2020 surged to $33.4 million in Q2 2020 from $31.7 million in Q2 2019.
Tavalisse in European markets
CEO of Rigel, Raul Rodriguez, said the company achieved significant progress in Q2 2020 in business areas despite the challenges posed by an ongoing coronavirus. The company also posted improved sales of Tavalisse during this quarter. It announced the availability of Tavalisse in the European markets in July 2020.
Commences IST in COVID-19 pneumonia
Raul said the company will continue to advance its product portfolio. The company recently commenced IST (Investigator sponsored trial) in COVID-19 pneumonia. It will explore the prospects of SYK-Inhibition to cure patients with COVID-19 pneumonia. The medicine will play an important role in preventing severe respiratory conditions caused by COVID-19.
Rigel is conducting Phase 2 IST with Imperial College London to investigate the effectiveness of fostamatinib to cure COVID-19 pneumonia. It is an open-label and two-stage randomized and controlled clinical study. In this clinical study, the patients are administered with ruxolitinib, fostamatinib, and standard care in a 1:1:1 ratio randomly two times a day for 2 weeks. A follow-up study is conducted on the patients after 14 days and 28 days to assess the effectiveness.
IST is conducted mainly to evaluate the efficacy of fostamatinib and ruxolitinib compared to normal treatment to reduce patients hospitalized for curing COVID-19 pneumonia.
In a study facilitated by Amsterdam University Medical Center, the active metabolite of fostamatinib – R406 actively blocked MHR (hyperinflammatory responses) to a blend of immune complexes created by anti-Spike IgG in serum in patients with severe COVID-19. It is evident from these clinical trials that R406 has the potential to prevent pulmonary edema, cytokine storms, and thrombosis related to severe coronavirus infection.
Dave Santos joins as EVP
Dave Santos is inducted as Executive Vice President at Rigel. He brings in more than 30 years of solid expertise in the biopharmaceutical industry. Dave previously held roles at Genentech, Lilly, Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Jazz Pharmaceuticals.
The capabilities of Dave include leadership roles in marketing, sales, and developing commercial capabilities.
