Description of Capital Stock

Exhibit 4.1

DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK

References herein to “Rigel,” “our,” “we,” “us” and the “Company” refer only to Rigel Pharmaceuticals, Inc.

General

Our authorized capital stock consists of 400,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.001 par value per share, or common stock, and 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock, $0.001 par value per share, or preferred stock.

The following summary description is based on the provisions of our amended and restated certificate of incorporation, as amended, or the certificate of incorporation, our amended and restated bylaws, or the bylaws, and the applicable provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law, or DGCL. This information may not be complete in all respects and is qualified entirely by reference to the provisions of our certificate of incorporation, our bylaws and the DGCL.  Our certificate of incorporation and our bylaws are filed as exhibits to this Annual Report on Form 10-K to which this Description of Capital Stock is an exhibit.

Common stock

General. The following is a description of our common stock, which is the only security of the Company registered pursuant to Section 12 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, or the Exchange Act.

Dividend rights.  Subject to preferences that may apply to shares of preferred stock outstanding at the time, the holders of outstanding shares of our common stock are entitled to receive dividends out of funds legally available if our board of directors, in its discretion, determines to declare dividends and then only at the times and in the amounts that our board of directors may determine.

Voting rights.  Each holder of common stock is entitled to one vote for each share of common stock held on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders. Our certificate of incorporation does not provide for the right of stockholders to cumulate votes for the election of directors. Our certificate of incorporation establishes a classified board of directors, divided into three classes with staggered three-year terms. Only one class of directors is elected at each annual meeting of our stockholders, with the other classes continuing for the remainder of their respective three-year terms. These provisions in our certificate of incorporation could discourage potential takeover attempts. See “Anti-takeover effects of provisions of the certificate of incorporation, bylaws and Delaware law” below.

No preemptive or similar rights.  Our common stock is not entitled to preemptive rights and is not subject to conversion, redemption or sinking fund provisions. The rights, preferences and privileges of the holders of our common stock are subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of the holders of any series of our preferred stock that we may designate and issue in the future.

Right to receive liquidation distributions.  Upon our dissolution, liquidation or winding-up, the assets legally available for distribution to our stockholders are distributable ratably among the holders of our common stock, subject to prior satisfaction of all outstanding debt and liabilities and the preferential rights and payment of liquidation preferences, if any, on any outstanding shares of our preferred stock.

The rights of the holders of our common stock are subject to, and may be adversely affected by, the rights of holders of shares of any preferred stock that we may designate and issue in the future.

Preferred stock

Our board of directors is authorized, subject to limitations prescribed by Delaware law, to issue preferred stock in one or more series, to establish from time to time the number of shares to be included in each series and to fix the

designation, powers, preferences and rights of the shares of each series and any of its qualifications, limitations or restrictions. Our board of directors can also increase or decrease the number of shares of any series, but not below the number of shares of that series then outstanding, without any further vote or action by our stockholders. Our board of directors may authorize the issuance of preferred stock with voting or conversion rights that could adversely affect the voting power or other rights of the holders of the common stock. The issuance of preferred stock, while providing flexibility in connection with financings, possible acquisitions and other corporate purposes, could, among other things, have the effect of delaying, deferring, discouraging or preventing a change in control of our company, may adversely affect the market price of our common stock and the voting and other rights of the holders of common stock, and may reduce the likelihood that common stockholders will receive dividend payments and payments upon liquidation.

Anti-takeover effects of provisions of the certificate of incorporation, bylaws and Delaware law

Certificate of incorporation and bylaws 

Our certificate of incorporation provides that our board of directors is divided into three classes with staggered three-year terms. Only one class of directors is elected at each annual meeting of our stockholders, with the other classes continuing for the remainder of their respective three-year terms. Because holders of our common stock do not have cumulative voting rights in the election of directors, stockholders holding a majority of the shares of common stock outstanding are able to elect all of our directors. Our board of directors is able to elect a director to fill a vacancy created by the expansion of the board of directors or due to the resignation or departure of an existing board member. Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws also provide that all stockholder actions must be effected at a duly called meeting of stockholders and not by written consent. Further, our bylaws provide that a special meeting of stockholders may only be called by the Chairman of our board of directors, our Chief Executive Officer, or the board of directors pursuant to a resolution adopted by a majority of the total number of authorized directors.

In addition, our bylaws include a requirement for the advance notice of nominations for election to the board of directors or for proposing matters that can be acted upon at a stockholders' meeting. Our certificate of incorporation provides for the ability of the board of directors to issue, without stockholder approval, up to 10,000,000 shares of preferred stock with terms set by the board of directors, which rights could be senior to those of our common stock. Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws also provides that approval of at least 66-2/3% of the shares entitled to vote at an election of directors will be required to adopt, amend or repeal our bylaws, or repeal the provisions of our certificate of incorporation, including provisions regarding amending or repealing our certificate of incorporation or bylaws, the election of directors and the inability of stockholders to take action by written consent in lieu of a meeting. Our bylaws also provides that our board of directors may unilaterally alter, amend, repeal our bylaws or adopt new bylaws.

The foregoing provisions make it difficult for holders of our common stock to replace our board of directors. In addition, the authorization of undesignated preferred stock makes it possible for our board of directors to issue preferred stock with voting or other rights or preferences that could impede the success of any attempt to change control of our company.

Section 203 of the DCGL

In general, Section 203 prohibits, with some exceptions, a publicly held Delaware corporation such as us from engaging in a “business combination” with an “interested stockholder” for a period of three years following the time that the stockholder became an interested stockholder, unless:

 •prior to the time the stockholder became an interested stockholder, the board of directors of the corporation approved either the business combination or the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder;

 •upon consummation of the transaction which resulted in the stockholder becoming an interested stockholder, the interested stockholder owned at least 85% of the voting stock of the corporation outstanding at the time the transaction commenced, excluding for purposes of determining the number of shares outstanding (but not the outstanding voting stock owned by the interested stockholder) those shares owned by (a) persons who are directors and also officers and (b) employee stock plans in which employee

participants do not have the right to determine confidentially whether shares held subject to the plan will be tendered in a tender or exchange offer; or

•at or subsequent to such time that the stockholder became an interested stockholder, the business combination is approved by the board of directors and authorized at an annual or special meeting of stockholders by at least 66-2⁄3% of the outstanding voting stock which is not owned by the interested stockholder.

Section 203 of the DGCL generally defines a “business combination” to include any of the following:

 • any merger or consolidation involving the corporation and the interested stockholder;

 •any sale, lease, exchange, mortgage, transfer, pledge or other disposition involving the interested stockholder (in one transaction or a series of transactions) of assets of the corporation having an aggregate market value equal to 10% or more of the aggregate market value of either all of the assets of the corporation or its outstanding stock;

 •subject to exceptions, any transaction that results in the issuance or transfer by the corporation of any stock of the corporation to the interested stockholder;

 •subject to exceptions, any transaction involving the corporation that has the effect, directly or indirectly, of increasing the proportionate share of the stock or any class or series of the corporation beneficially owned by the interested stockholder; and

 •the receipt by the interested stockholder of the benefit, directly or indirectly (except proportionately as a stockholder of such corporation), of any loans, advances, guarantees, pledges or other financial benefits, other than certain benefits set forth in Section 203, provided by or through the corporation.

In general, Section 203 defines an “interested stockholder” as an entity or person who, together with the person’s affiliates and associates, beneficially owns, or within three years prior to the time of determination of interested stockholder status did own, 15% or more of the outstanding voting stock of the corporation.

A Delaware corporation may "opt out" of these provisions with an express provision in its original certificate of incorporation or an express provision in its certificate of incorporation or bylaws resulting from a stockholders' amendment approved by at least a majority of the outstanding voting shares. We do not plan to "opt out" of these provisions. The statute could prohibit or delay mergers or other takeover or change in control attempts and, accordingly, may discourage attempts to acquire us.