This biotech stock has jumped nearly 50% in 3 months. Its CEO says business is ‘growing substantially’

It’s been a stellar few months for shares of San Francisco-based biotech company Rigel Pharmaceuticals, which has approved treatments for hematology and oncology — as well as potential new drugs in the pipeline.

The stock has jumped about 50% in just the last three months, earning it a spot on CNBC’s list of top performing stocks of companies based in the City by the Bay. To find the stocks, CNBC screened for names based in the area that had market caps above $500 million. We then screened for the top performers over the last three months via FactSet.

“We have a business that’s growing substantially,” CEO Raul Rodriguez said in an interview with CNBC’s Brian Sullivan. “[We] grew 30% on average for four years, and this year, about 50% … adding new products, growing those products, financially disciplined, so that we are profitable.”

Rigel blew away analyst expectations when it reported second-quarter results in August. Its earnings were $3.28 per share, versus the $2.58 a share anticipated from analysts polled by FactSet. Revenue came in at $101.7 million, well above the $88.9 million consensus estimate. The company also lifted its full-year revenue guidance to a range of $270 million to $280 million, up from its prior forecast of $200 million to $210 million.

It also saw growth across the three drugs currently on the market. Tavalisse treats patients with low platelet counts due to chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP). Gavreto is a lung cancer treatment, while Rezlidhia is a targeted treatment for adults with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) that have an isocitrate dehydrogenase-1 (IDH1) mutation.

There are currently two clinical programs underway, with one being led by its partner Eli Lilly for an autoimmune and inflammatory disorder treatment called Ocadusertib. The other is for what Rigel is calling R289, which aims to treat patients with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndrome (LR-MDS), a type of blood cancer.

R289 is now in the early stages of clinical trials and Rodriguez hopes to present some data at the American Society of Hematology meeting in December.

“We’re starting a new phase of the trials, where we’re adding a substantially larger number of patients,” he said. “So by the end of next year, we’ll be able to say something much more definitive about this product and this indication.”

Rigel is expected to announce its latest quarterly results on Nov. 4.

Correction: Rigel’s R289 treats patients with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndrome. The company has treatments for hematology and oncology. A prior version of this story misstated the drug’s name.