It's been a stellar few months for the San Francisco-based biotech company's stock Rigel Pharmaceuticalswhich has approved treatments for hematology and oncology, as well as possible new drugs in the pipeline.
The stock is up about 50% in just the last three months, earning it a spot on CNBC's list of best-performing company stocks based in City by the Bay. To find the stocks, CNBC looked for names based in the area that had market capitalizations greater than $500 million. We then select the best ones in the last three months through FactSet.
“We have a business that is growing substantially,” CEO Raúl Rodríguez said in an interview with CNBC's Brian Sullivan. “[We] it grew 30% on average over four years, and this year, about 50%… adding new products, growing those products, with financial discipline, so that we are profitable.”
Rigel Pharmaceuticals so far this year
Rigel beat analyst expectations when it reported second-quarter results in August. Its earnings were $3.28 per share, compared to the $2.58 per share expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet. Revenue came in at $101.7 million, well above the consensus estimate of $88.9 million. The company also raised its full-year revenue guidance to a range of $270 million to $280 million, up from its previous forecast of $200 million to $210 million.
It also saw growth in all three drugs currently on the market. Tavalisse treats patients with low platelet counts due to chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). Gavreto is a treatment for lung cancer, while Rezlidhia is a treatment aimed at adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) who have a mutation in isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 (IDH1).
There are currently two clinical programs underway, one of them led by its partner. Eli Lilly for the treatment of an autoimmune and inflammatory disorder called Ocadusertib. The other is for what Rigel calls R289, which aims to treat patients with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (LR-MDS), a type of blood cancer.
R289 is now in the early stages of clinical trials, and Rodriguez hopes to present some data at the American Society of Hematology meeting in December.
“We are starting a new phase of trials, in which we will add a substantially larger number of patients,” he said. “So by the end of next year we will be able to say something much more definitive about this product and this indication.”
Rigel is expected to announce its latest quarterly results on November 4.
Correction: Rigel's R289 treats patients with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndrome. The company has treatments for hematology and oncology. An earlier version of this story misstated the name of the medication.
