Rigel Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: [[ticker:RIGL]]), the South San Francisco-based biotech company, said today it has received a $25 million milestone payment from its partner, AstraZeneca, in connection development of the experimental drug fostamatinib (R788) for rheumatoid arthritis. AstraZeneca has begun a pivotal clinical trial of the new drug, Rigel said. Data from a mid-stage study of the new drug candidate was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine.
Author: Luke Timmerman
Luke is an award-winning journalist specializing in life sciences. He has served as national biotechnology editor for Xconomy and national biotechnology reporter for Bloomberg News. Luke got started covering life sciences at The Seattle Times, where he was the lead reporter on an investigation of doctors who leaked confidential information about clinical trials to investors. The story won the Scripps Howard National Journalism Award and several other national prizes. Luke holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and during the 2005-2006 academic year, he was a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at MIT.
View all posts by Luke Timmerman
