Esteban Masuda Email Address

Executive Vice President and Head of Research at Rigel Pharmaceuticals Inc

Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (Nasdaq: RIGL) is a clinical-stage drug development company that discovers and develops novel, small-molecule drugs for the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases, as well as muscle disorders. Rigel's pioneering research focuses on intracellular signaling pathways and related targets that are critical to disease mechanisms. Rigel's productivity has resulted in strategic collaborations with large pharmaceutical partners to develop and market its product candidates. Current product development programs include fostamatinib, an oral SYK inhibitor that is in Phase 3 clinical trials for rheumatoid arthritis with its partner AstraZeneca| R343, an inhaled SYK inhibitor for asthma and R333, a topical JAK/SYK inhibitor for discoid lupus - both of which have commenced Phase 2 clinical trials| and, R348, a topical JAK/SYK inhibitor in a Phase 1 clinical trial for the treatment of chronic dry eye.

Esteban S. Masuda, Ph.D. is the Executive Vice President and Head of Research at Rigel Pharmaceuticals. He joined Rigel in 1998, and he has worked on and led numerous drug discovery projects in inflammatory and allergic diseases. He served as the project leader of the program that led to the discovery of Tavalisse™ (fostamatinib), a first in class SYK kinase inhibitor. His work has resulted in moving several product candidates into clinical development, establishing various corporate partnerships, producing over 50 publications, and issuing over 50 U.S. patents. Prior to joining Rigel, Dr. Masuda carried out his postdoctoral work on cytokine biology and gene regulation at DNAX Research Institute of Molecular and Cellular Biology (now part of Merck) in Palo Alto, CA.