NKTR Nektar Therapeutics

Item 5.02.    Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers; Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers

(d)  On September 18, 2017, Jeff Ajer was appointed to the board of directors of Nektar Therapeutics, a Delaware corporation (the “ Company ”), as a Class II Director whose initial term will end at our 2018 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.  Our board has determined that Mr. Ajer is an independent director as that term is defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. The board has not yet determined on which board committees Mr. Ajer will serve.

Mr. Ajer, age 55, currently serves as Executive Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer at BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc., a global biotechnology company that develops and commercializes innovative therapies for people with serious and life-threatening rare disorders. From October 2012 to January 2014, Mr. Ajer served as Senior Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer of BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. (NASDAQ: BMRN) (“ BioMarin ”). From April 2009 to October 2012, Mr. Ajer served as BioMarin’s Vice President, Commercial Operations, The Americas, where he had responsibility for commercial operations throughout the Americas and led product marketing, reimbursement, and sales operations for BioMarin. Prior to joining BioMarin, Mr. Ajer served in various roles at Genzyme Corporation (“ Genzyme ”) beginning in November 2003, most recently as Vice President, Global Transplant Operations from December 2004 to August 2005. Mr. Ajer’s experience prior to Genzyme includes roles in sales, marketing and operations at SangStat Medical Corporation and ICN Pharmaceuticals. Mr. Ajer received both a B.S. in chemistry and an M.B.A. from the University of California, Irvine.

There are no arrangements or understandings between Mr. Ajer and any other persons pursuant to which he was selected as a director of the Company. There are no current or proposed transactions between the Company and Mr. Ajer or his immediate family members that would require disclosure under Item 404(a) of Regulation S-K promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Mr. Ajer will participate in the Company’s Amended and Restated Compensation Plan for Non-Employee Directors (the “ Plan ”), previously filed on March 1, 2016, with the Securities and Exchange Commission as Exhibit 10.7 to the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2015.  Our non-employee directors are eligible to participate in the Plan.