Armistice Capital Backs Rigel Pharmaceuticals as Company Nears First Profitable Year

Rigel Pharmaceuticals told investors it expects to report positive net income for the full year 2025. For a company that has spent most of its public life burning cash, that projection carries weight. Third-quarter net product sales of $64.1 million, up 65% year over year, and raised full-year revenue guidance of $285 million to $290 million to back up the forecast.

Hedge funds such as Armistice Capital, alongside institutional holders including BlackRock and Morgan Stanley, own shares in Rigel. Armistice Capital grew its position during the first quarter of 2025. Jefferies upgraded the stock to Buy from Hold following Q3 results.

What Is Fueling Rigel’s Revenue Acceleration?

All three marketed drugs are growing fast. TAVALISSE, prescribed for chronic immune thrombocytopenia, generated $44.7 million in Q3 product sales. That was 70% above the $26.3 million from a year earlier. GAVRETO, approved for cancers driven by RET gene fusions, delivered $11.1 million, 56% higher than Q3 2024. REZLIDHIA, used in certain acute myeloid leukemia cases, posted $8.3 million in revenue, a 50% gain.

None of the three grew by less than 50%. Combined, they pushed quarterly product revenue to $64.1 million.

Raul Rodriguez, Rigel’s president and CEO, stated the “strong third-quarter performance demonstrates our strategic focus on commercial execution, pipeline development, and financial discipline.”

Total Q3 revenue, including $5.4 million from collaboration contracts, reached $69.5 million. Rigel now guides for full-year product sales of $225 million to $230 million and collaboration revenues near $60 million.

What Did R289 Clinical Data Show at ASH?

Rigel presented updated Phase 1b results for R289 at the American Society of Hematology Annual Meeting in late 2025. The oral prodrug targets interleukin receptor-associated kinases 1 and 4 and was tested in patients with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes who had stopped responding to earlier treatments.

The trial enrolled 33 patients with a median age of 75 and a median of three prior therapies. Among transfusion-dependent patients on daily doses of 500 milligrams or higher, about one-third stopped needing red blood cell transfusions for at least eight weeks. Those who responded maintained their independence for a median of 22.9 weeks. The response is typically set within roughly two months.

Lisa Rojkjaer, Rigel’s chief medical officer, said the updated results “underscore the potential of R289 to become a treatment option for these patients.”

The FDA granted Orphan Drug designation for myelodysplastic syndromes and Fast Track designation for the specific patient population studied. A dose expansion phase kicked off in October 2025, enrolling up to 40 patients across once-daily and twice-daily arms at 500 milligrams. Rigel will use expansion results to decide how to structure Phase 2, with those decisions expected in 2026.

What Does the Rest of Rigel’s Business Look Like?

Beyond its own product sales, Rigel earns revenue through collaboration agreements with Grifols, Kissei Pharmaceutical, and others covering international rights to portions of its marketed drugs. That income stream, projected at roughly $60 million for 2025, provides a buffer that helps fund pipeline work without relying entirely on domestic prescription growth.

R289 would be Rigel’s fourth commercial product if it clears later trials. The compound targets a patient group with few approved alternatives after relapsing on prior therapies.

Armistice Capital, BlackRock, and Morgan Stanley maintain positions in Rigel as it moves through what management expects to be the company’s first year of positive net income.