Nektar Announces Investor’s Election to Acquire $8M of Nektar’s Common Stock

SAN CARLOS, California, September 8, 2005 (BUSINESS WIRE) – Nektar Therapeutics (Nasdaq: NKTRNews), today announced that an institutional investor has elected to exercise its option under a previously negotiated agreement to acquire an additional 454,803 shares of Nektar’s common stock for a purchase price of approximately $8 million. The transaction is expected to close within a few days. On August 16, 2005, Nektar announced that the same investor was acquiring 1,436,266 shares of Nektar’s common stock for a purchase price of approximately $24 million. Nektar is offering all of the shares through a prospectus supplement pursuant to its currently effective shelf registration statement.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy these shares of common stock, nor shall there be any sale of these shares of common stock in any state in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state.

Nektar Therapeutics enables high-value, differentiated therapeutics with its industry-leading drug delivery technologies, expertise and manufacturing capabilities. The world’s top biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies are developing new and better therapeutics using Nektar’s advanced technologies and know-how. Nektar also develops its own products by applying its drug delivery technologies and its expertise to existing medicines to enhance performance, such as improving efficacy, safety and compliance.

For additional information contact Joyce Strand (650) 631-3138 or Jennifer Ruddock (650) 631-4954 at Nektar Therapeutics.

This release contains forward-looking statements that reflect management’s current views as to Nektar’s business strategy, product and technology development plans and funding, collaborative arrangements, clinical trials, and other future events and operations. These forward-looking statements involve uncertainties and other risks that are detailed in Nektar’s reports and other filings with the SEC, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K, as amended, for the year ended December 2004 and its Quarterly Report on 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2005. Actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements.