Benzinga | Jan 11, 2021 07:34AM EST

Rigel Expects To Report Q4 Sales Of $18.4 M

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., Jan. 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:RIGL) today provided a business update, including preliminary total revenue, TAVALISSE(r) (fostamatinib disodium hexahydrate) bottles sold for the quarter, Fast Track designation granted for warm autoimmune hemolytic anemia (wAIHA), and the company's expanding COVID-19 program. The company's president and CEO, Raul Rodriguez, will provide a more detailed company overview during his presentation taking place on Thursday, January 14, 2020 at 10:00 am ET at the 39th Annual J.P. Morgan Virtual Healthcare Conference.

"Rigel's accomplishments during the extraordinary global events of 2020 position the company well as we enter the new year," said Raul Rodriguez, Rigel's president and CEO. "Annual sales of TAVALISSE grew by 41% compared to 2019, and its use as an earlier line treatment option for ITP is resonating with both patients and physicians. We are continuing to enroll our Phase 3 trial in wAIHA and we have received Fast Track designation from the FDA which is intended to expedite the review of a potential regulatory filing.

"The availability of vaccines is a critical step in managing the COVID-19 pandemic, but we expect there will continue to be a significant need for therapeutics. Our Phase 3 trial in COVID-19 has launched and topline data from the National Institutes of Health Phase 2 trial is expected in April, which will provide a near-term look at the potential of fostamatinib in this disease."

Commercial and Preliminary Financial Update

In the fourth quarter of 2020, a total of 1,899 bottles of TAVALISSE were sold in the U.S., of which 1,725 were shipped directly to patients and clinics. While Rigel is still in the process of determining final results for the fourth quarter of 2020, the company expects to report net product sales of approximately $17.7 million, compared to $13.8 million in the same period of 2019, an increase of 28%.

Contract revenues from collaborations for the quarter ended December 31, 2020, are expected to be approximately $697,000, which consists of $500,000 from Grifols related to an option for commercialization in additional territories and $197,000 in revenues earned from the performance of certain research and development services from Rigel's collaboration agreement with Grifols.

For the fourth quarter 2020, Rigel expects to report total revenue of approximately $18.4 million.

The company expects to report cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments as of December 31, 2020 of approximately $57.3 million, compared to $98.0 million as of December 31, 2019.

The above information is preliminary, has not been audited and is subject to change upon completion of the audit of the company's financial statements as of and for the year ended December 31, 2020.