Rigel names former board member as chief medical officer

Rigel Pharmaceuticals (Nasdaq: RIGL) appointed Alison L. Hannah, M.D. as Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, effective July 1, 2026, according to a company statement.

Dr. Hannah resigned from Rigel's Board of Directors, where she had served since May 2021, in connection with her appointment. She succeeds Lisa Rojkjaer, M.D. in the role.

Prior to joining Rigel's executive team, Dr. Hannah served as Chief Medical Officer of CytomX Therapeutics and as Senior Medical Director at SUGEN, Inc., which was acquired by Pharmacia & Upjohn and is now part of Pfizer. At SUGEN, she worked on the development of tyrosine kinase inhibitors including sunitinib and imatinib-refractory gastrointestinal stromal tumor treatments. She has also worked as a consultant to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry since 2000 and has filed more than 40 regulatory applications for first-in-human clinical testing.

Rigel's pipeline includes R289, an investigational dual inhibitor of IRAK1/4 being evaluated in a Phase 1b study in patients with relapsed or refractory lower-risk myelodysplastic syndrome. The company said enrollment in the dose expansion phase is ongoing and it expects to complete enrollment and select a recommended Phase 2 dose in the second half of 2026. Preliminary data from the dose expansion phase are anticipated by year-end 2026.

Rigel also said it is evaluating additional potential indications for R289 and plans to provide an update later in 2026. The company is also advancing vepdegestrant in metastatic breast cancer.

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