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Board of Directors

Our Board of Directors

The Nektar Board of Directors has nine members: two from the company’s executive management team and seven outside members.

Robert B. Chess
Chairman of the Board, Nektar Therapeutics and Chairman and CEO, OPX Biotechnologies, Inc.

Robert B. Chess is Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of OPX Biotechnologies, Inc. and Chairman of the Board for Nektar Therapeutics. Rob served as interim President and Chief Executive Officer of Nektar from March 2006 until January 2007 and Executive Chairman of Nektar from April 1999 through January 2007. While at Nektar, Chess was also Co-Chief Executive Officer from August 1998 to April 2000, President from December 1991 to August 1998 and Chief Executive Officer from May 1992 to August 1998. From September 1990 until October 1991, he was an Associate Deputy Director in the White House Office of Policy Development. In March 1987, Mr. Chess co-founded Penederm Incorporated, a topical dermatological drug delivery company, and served as its President until February 1989. Prior to co-founding Penederm, Mr. Chess held management positions at Intel Corp., a semiconductor manufacturer, and Metaphor, a computer software company (acquired by International Business Machines Corp.). Mr. Chess holds a B.S. in Engineering from the California Institute of Technology and an M.B.A. from the Harvard Business School. Mr. Chess is chairman of the Bio Ventures for Global Health and a director of Biotechnology Industry Organization, a trade organization serving and representing the emerging biotechnology industry. Mr. Chess also serves on the Board of Trustees of the California Institute of Technology. Mr. Chess is on the faculty and a lecturer at the Stanford Graduate School of Business where he teaches courses in Health Care Management and Entrepreneurship.

Michael A. Brown
Chairman of Line 6 and Former Chairman, Quantum Corporation

Michael A. Brown has served as our director since September 2002. Mr. Brown serves as Chairman of Line 6, a private company supplying musical instruments, amplifiers and audio gear. Mr. Brown was Chairman of the Board of Quantum Corporation from 1998 through 2003 and continues to serve as a Quantum director. He served as Quantum’s Chief Executive Officer for seven years, retiring in September 2002. Mr. Brown was President of Quantum’s Desktop Storage Division from 1993 to 1995 and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer from 1992 to 1993. Previously, Mr. Brown held senior positions in product and marketing management since joining Quantum’s marketing organization in August 1984. Before joining Quantum, Mr. Brown served in the marketing organization at Hewlett-Packard. Mr. Brown holds a B.A. in economics from Harvard University and an M.B.A. from Stanford University. Mr. Brown is also a director of Symantec Corp., a security and storage management software company.

Hoyoung Huh, M.D., Ph.D.
President and CEO, BiPar Sciences

Hoyoung Huh was appointed director in February 2008. He is President and CEO of BiPar Sciences, a privately held firm developing cancer medicines. Prior to this, he was Chief Operating Officer and Head of the PEGylation Business Unit at Nektar Therapeutics, where he led major commercial functions, including operations, business development, alliance management, new product planning, and product marketing. He also managed key alliances for Nektar. He is a frequent speaker on topics of licensing strategy, portfolio management and biotechnology commercialization. Previously, Dr. Huh was a partner at McKinsey and Company, where he focused primarily in the biopharmaceutical sector in the U.S., Europe, and Asia with areas of expertise in licensing, mergers and acquisitions, and innovative product launches. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of Nektar Therapeutics, as well as BayBio, a biotechnology industry association. Dr. Huh holds an M.D. from Cornell University, a Ph.D. in Genetics/Cell Biology from the Cornell University/Sloan Kettering Institute, and an A.B. in Biochemistry from Dartmouth College.

Joseph J. Krivulka
Founder and President, Triax Pharmaceuticals

Joseph J. Krivulka is founder and President of Triax Pharmaceuticals, a position he has held since November 2004. Mr. Krivulka was a co-founder and President of Reliant Pharmaceuticals, LLC from 1999 until 2004. Mr. Krivulka has more than 25 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry and was formerly Chief Executive Officer of Bertek, Inc., a subsidiary of Mylan Laboratories Inc., and Corporate Vice President of Mylan Laboratories. Mr. Krivulka is also a director of Aeolus Pharmaceuticals Inc., a drug development services company. He holds a B.S. from West Virginia Wesleyan College.

Christopher A. Kuebler
Chairman, Covance Inc.

Christopher A. Kuebler has served as our director since December 2001. Mr. Kuebler served as Chairman of the Board of Covance Inc., a drug development services company from January 1997 to December 2005 and from November 1994 to December 2004, served as its Chief Executive Officer. From March 1993 through November 1994, he was the Corporate Vice President, European Operations for Abbott Laboratories Inc., a diversified health care company. From January 1986 until March 1993, Mr. Kuebler served in various commercial positions for Abbott Laboratories’ Pharmaceutical Division and was that Division’s Vice President, Sales and Marketing prior to taking the position of Corporate Vice President, European Operations. Mr. Kuebler holds a B.S. in Biological Science from Florida State University.

Irwin Lerner
Former Chairman, F. Hoffmann-La Roche Inc.

Irwin Lerner has served as our director since April 1999. Mr. Lerner served as Chairman of the Board and the Executive Committee of Hoffmann-La Roche Inc., a pharmaceutical and health care company, from January 1993 until his retirement in September 1993, and from 1980 through December 1992, also served as its President and Chief Executive Officer. Mr. Lerner is currently the Interim President and Chief Executive Officer of Medarex Inc. Since September 1995, Mr. Lerner has served on the board of Medarex Inc., a monoclonal antibody products company, and became Chairman of the board in May 1997. He served for 12 years on the board of the Pharmaceutical Manufacturers’ Association where he chaired the Association’s FDA Issues Committee. Mr. Lerner received a B.S. and an M.B.A. from Rutgers University. He is currently a Distinguished Executive-in-Residence at Rutgers University Business School. Mr. Lerner is also a director of Covance Inc., a drug development services company, Panacos Pharmaceuticals Inc., an anti-viral products company and Genmab A/S, a biotechnology company.

Lutz Lingnau
Former Executive Board Member, Schering AG

Lutz Lingnau was appointed director in August 2007. Mr. Lingnau is a highly-respected pharmaceutical industry leader with over 35 years of experience in corporate management, product development and marketing. Mr. Lingnau was a member of the Executive Board at Schering AG and Vice Chairman, President and CEO of Schering Berlin, Inc. While at Schering AG, he was responsible for the worldwide specialized therapeutics business and also held a number of other executive positions including Head of Worldwide Sales and Marketing in the Pharmaceutical Division, and Chairman and President of Berlex Laboratories, Inc. Mr. Lingnau is a member of the Supervisory Board of LANXESS AG, Germany and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Micropharma Ltd., Montreal. He was formerly a member of the Board of Directors of Sirna Therapeutics, which was acquired by Merck & Co., Inc. in December 2006.

John S. Patton, Ph.D.
Co-Founder and Chief Research Fellow, Nektar Therapeutics

John S. Patton, Ph.D., our co-founder, has served as Chief Research Fellow since April 2008 and a director since July 1990. Prior to that he was Chief Scientific Officer since November 2001. Dr. Patton served as Vice President, Research from December 1991 to November 2001. He served as our President from our incorporation in July 1990 to December 1991. From 1985 to 1990, Dr. Patton was a Project Team Leader with Genentech, Inc., a biotechnology company, where he headed their non-invasive drug delivery activities. Dr. Patton was on the faculty of the Marine Science and Microbiology Departments at the University of Georgia from 1979 through 1985, where he was granted tenure in 1984. Dr. Patton received a B.S. in Zoology and Biochemistry from Pennsylvania State University, an M.S. from the University of Rhode Island, a Ph.D. in Biology from the University of California, San Diego and received post doctorate fellowships from Harvard Medical School and the University of Lund, Sweden, both in biomedicine. Dr. Patton is also a director of Halozyme Therapeutics, Inc., a biopharmaceutical company.

Howard W. Robin
President and Chief Executive Officer, Nektar Therapeutics

Howard W. Robin has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer since January, 2007 and was appointed as a member of our Board of Directors in February, 2007. Mr. Robin served as Chief Executive Officer, President and director of Sirna Therapeutics, Inc. from July 2001 to November, 2006 and from January 2001 to June 2001, served as their Chief Operating Officer, President and director. From 1991 to 2001, Mr. Robin was Corporate Vice President and General Manager at Berlex Laboratories, Inc., a subsidiary of Schering, AG, and from 1987 to 1991 he served as Vice President of Finance and Business Development and Chief Financial Officer. From 1984 to 1987, Mr. Robin was Director of Business Planning and Development at Berlex. He was a Senior Associate with Arthur Andersen & Co. prior to joining Berlex. Since February 2006, Mr. Robin has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Acologix. He received his BS in Accounting and Finance from Farleigh Dickinson University in 1974.

Susan Wang
Former CFO, Solectron

Susan Wang has served as our director since December 2003. In addition to serving as our director, Ms. Wang also serves as a member of the board of directors for Altera Corporation, Avanex Corporation and Calpine Corporation. Ms. Wang, who retired from Solectron in June 2002, held several key positions during her 18 years there, including 17 years as the Chief Financial Officer. Her final position at Solectron was Executive Vice President for Corporate Development and Chief Financial Officer, where she was responsible for financial, business development, and legal activities. Prior to joining Solectron, Ms. Wang held financial and managerial positions with Xerox Corporation and Westvaco Corporation. She began her career with Price Waterhouse & Co. in New York and is a certified public accountant. Ms. Wang earned an M.B.A. from the University of Connecticut and a B.S. in accounting from the University of Texas.

Roy A. Whitfield
Chairman, Incyte Genomics, Inc.

Roy A. Whitfield has served as our director since August 2000. Mr. Whitfield is the former Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of Incyte Corporation, a company he co-founded in 1991. From January 1993 to November 2001, Mr. Whitfield served as its Chief Executive Officer and from November 2001 until June 2003 as its Chairman. Mr. Whitfield still serves on the Board of Incyte Corporation. From 1984 to 1989, Mr. Whitfield held senior operating and business development positions with Technicon Instruments Corporation, a medical instrumentation company, and its predecessor company, Cooper Biomedical, Inc., a biotechnology and medical diagnostics company. Prior to his work at Technicon, Mr. Whitfield spent seven years with the Boston Consulting Group’s international consulting practice. Mr. Whitfield received a B.S. in mathematics from Oxford University and an M.B.A. from Stanford University.
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