aibioLilly to end Rigel ocadusertib license effective June 15, 2026
Tickers RIGL
Eli Lilly gave notice on April 16, 2026 that it is terminating its license for ocadusertib, a RIPK1 inhibitor, effective June 15, 2026. Rigel expects to regain full rights and does not expect future milestones or royalties under the agreement.
Key facts
- Company
- Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: RIGL)
- News type
- Distress
- Primary source
- Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. 8-K (2026-04-21)
The termination notice
Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc. received written notice from Eli Lilly and Company on April 16, 2026 that Lilly had elected to terminate their License and Collaboration Agreement in its entirety. The agreement is dated February 18, 2021. Rigel reported the termination in an 8-K dated April 21, 2026, under Item 1.02, which covers the termination of a material definitive agreement. The termination will become effective on June 15, 2026.
The agreement gave Lilly an exclusive worldwide license to develop and commercialize ocadusertib, previously known as R552, an investigational, potent and selective RIPK1 inhibitor, for non-central nervous system diseases. It also covered additional RIPK1 inhibitors for central nervous system diseases. The collaboration included development activities and potential milestone payments and royalties to Rigel.
What Rigel gets back
After termination takes effect, Lilly's rights to the licensed compounds end, subject to any transition provisions. Rigel says it expects to regain full rights to the licensed compounds upon termination. The company says it is evaluating the impact of the termination.
The central nervous system program under the agreement was already terminated, effective in November 2025. Rigel says that after both terminations it does not expect to receive future milestones or royalties under the agreement.
Rigel therefore gets back rights to a program that its partner has now dropped in full. The 8-K does not say what Rigel plans to do with the non-CNS compound, or whether it will look for another partner. It also gives no cost or timeline for further development.
The company's finances
Rigel's annual report for 2025, filed March 3, 2026, shows revenue of $294.3 million, up from $179.3 million in 2024. Research and development expense rose to $33.3 million from $23.4 million. Net income was $367.0 million in 2025, against $17.5 million in 2024, and cash provided by operations was $75.7 million, compared with $31.5 million a year earlier. The filings do not explain what produced the 2025 net income, so there is no basis for judging how much of it came from the Lilly agreement.
The approved products and R289
Rigel has three FDA-approved products. TAVALISSE, which the annual report calls the only approved oral spleen tyrosine kinase inhibitor for adult chronic immune thrombocytopenia, had $158.8 million of net product sales in 2025, up from $104.8 million. REZLIDHIA, for relapsed or refractory acute myeloid leukemia with an IDH1 mutation, had $31.0 million, up from $23.0 million. GAVRETO, which Rigel began selling in June 2024, had $42.1 million, against $17.1 million.
The termination does not touch those products. The annual report had described the RIPK1 program as led by Lilly. Rigel's own pipeline centers on R289, an oral IRAK1/4 inhibitor in a Phase 1b study in lower-risk myelodysplastic syndrome that is expected to enroll about 86 patients. In its December 2024 data, three patients reached red blood cell transfusion independence of at least eight weeks. The company also disclosed that one patient first counted as a minor responder had received transfusions missing from the database and was reclassified as a non-responder. It expects preliminary expansion data by the end of 2026.
The termination's effect
The loss of the Lilly agreement removes a source of possible future milestones and royalties from the RIPK1 compounds. Rigel says it does not expect those payments after the two terminations. The company's near-term economics therefore rest on the approved products and on its cash balances, which the 8-K does not discuss.
What comes next
The next step is the effective date, June 15, 2026. Until then, Rigel says it is evaluating the impact of the termination. The 8-K gives no decision on the non-CNS compound, no partner search and no timetable for development. The 8-K is signed by Raymond J. Furey, executive vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary.