Nektar Announces Newly-Created Diabetes Group and General Manager

As General Manager of the Diabetes Group, Bansal will drivedecision making and strategy development in the organization forinitiatives related to Exubera and diabetes. Ajay will be responsiblefor overseeing diabetes product decisions, resource allocation,partner relationships, and the profit and loss of the diabetes areafor Nektar.

"Exubera represents a tremendous opportunity for Nektar in thediabetes space. This newly created Group will help Nektar build along-term, highly-successful franchise in inhaled insulin and in thediabetes space," said Ajit Gill, president and CEO of Nektar. "Givenour experience in the development and manufacturing associated withExubera, diabetes is clearly a key area for us, and establishing thisGroup will be an important step towards our transition to becoming amore products-oriented company."

Bansal has more than 18 years of broad pharmaceutical andbiotechnology experience to qualify him for this position, including:strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, sales and marketing,post-merger integration, organizational restructuring, and new productplanning. Before joining Nektar, he was with Capital One FinancialCorp. Prior to Capital One, he was a partner at Mehta Partners, LLC,where he co-managed a hedge fund, provided financial and strategicadvisory services to biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies, andconducted investment research for four years. In addition, Bansal hasmore than 10 years experience in management roles at Novartis and inhealth care consulting at Arthur D. Little, McKinsey & Company, Inc.,and ZS Associates. Bansal joined Nektar in March 2003.

"To assure the success of this transition, it is important that wehave the right leader at the helm. Ajay's strong business acumen,strategic planning skills, ability to drive decision making, and broadexperience in the biopharmaceutical industry makes him an outstandingchoice to lead this important endeavor," concluded Gill.

About Nektar

Nektar Therapeutics enables high-value, differentiatedtherapeutics with its industry-leading drug delivery technologies,expertise and manufacturing capabilities. The world's topbiotechnology and pharmaceutical companies are developing new andbetter therapeutics using Nektar's advanced technologies and know-how.Nektar also develops its own products by applying its drug deliverytechnologies and its expertise to existing medicines to enhanceperformance, such as improving efficacy, safety and compliance.

This release contains forward-looking statements that reflectmanagement's current views as to Nektar's business strategy, productand technology development plans and funding, collaborativearrangements, clinical trials, and other future events and operations.These forward-looking statements involve uncertainties and other risksthat are detailed in Nektar's reports and other filings with the SEC,including its Annual Report on Form 10-K, as amended, for the yearended December 2004 and its Quarterly Report on 10-Q for the quarterended March 31, 2005. Actual results could differ materially fromthese forward-looking statements.