Rigel's R788 Drug Improves RA Symptoms

(Updates stock price)

Rigel Pharmaceuticals(RIGL Quote) said Thursday that its oral medicine, R788, significantly improved the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis patients in a phase II study compared with a placebo, but as in previous studies of the drug high blood pressure emerged as a leading side effect.

Based on these new R788 data, the South San Francisco-based drugmaker said it will seek out a corporate partner to co-develop and help finance phase III studies of R788 beginning in the first half of next year.

Rigel's R788 is one of two oral drugs in mid- and late-stage clinical trials as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis, or RA, a progressive disease in which a patient's own immune system attacks the bones and cartilage in the body's joints. ...