Nektar Therapeutics Reports Financial Results for the Second Quarter of 2015

Nektar Therapeutics Reports

Financial Results for the

Second Quarter of 2015

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif., August 5, 2015 -- Nektar Therapeutics

(Nasdaq: NKTR) today reported its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2015.

Cash and investments in marketable securities at June 30, 2015

were $279.7 million as compared to $325.8 million at March 31, 2015.

"We are pleased that the MOVANTIK launch in the U.S. is

off to an encouraging start with very rapid uptake," said Howard W. Robin, President

and Chief Executive Officer of Nektar. "AstraZeneca plans to launch MOVANTIK in both Europe and Canada in the second half

of this year. The SUMMIT-07 efficacy study of NKTR-181 in patients with chronic low back pain is well underway and proceeding ahead

of schedule. We recently signed an important clinical collaboration with MD Anderson Cancer Center for our immuno-oncology therapy,

NKTR-214, which is scheduled to enter a Phase 1 / 2 clinical study before year-end. Finally, Baxalta's ADYNOVATE, or BAX

855, continues on track to be approved and launched in the U.S. by the end of 2015."

Year-to-date revenue for 2015 was $131.5 million as compared

to $48.3 million in the first half of 2014. The increase in revenue in the first half of 2015 as compared to the same period in

2014 is due to the recognition of $90.0 million of the $100.0 million milestone payment from AstraZeneca following the first commercial

sale of MOVANTIK in the U.S. Revenue in the second quarter of 2015 was $22.7 million as compared to $28.5 million in the second

quarter of 2014. Revenue included non-cash royalty revenue, related to our 2012 royalty monetization, of $4.7 million and $8.7

million in the second quarter and first half of 2015, respectively, and $4.8 million and $10.6 million in the second quarter and

first half of 2014, respectively. This non-cash royalty revenue is offset by non-cash interest expense.

Total operating costs and expenses in the first half of 2015

were $131.9 million as compared to $107.6 million in the first half of 2014. Total operating costs and expenses in the second quarter

of 2015 were $66.1 million as compared to $51.4 million in the second quarter of 2014. Total operating costs and expenses increased

primarily as a result of increased research and development (R&D) expense.

Research and development expense in the second quarter of 2015

was $45.4 million as compared to $36.7 million in the second quarter of 2014. For the first half of 2015, R&D expense

was $92.4 million as compared to $75.0 million in the first half of 2014. R&D expense was higher in the second quarter

and first half of 2015 as compared to the same periods in 2014 primarily due to the initiation of the Phase 3 efficacy study of

NKTR-181 in patients with chronic low back pain. Additionally, R&D expense in the first half of 2015 included costs related

to the commercial scale-up of production of devices for Amikacin Inhale, the ongoing Phase 3 study of NKTR-102 in breast cancer,

the ongoing Phase 1 study of NKTR-171, and IND enabling activities for NKTR-214, which will enter the clinic in 2015.

General and administrative expense was $10.2 million in the

second quarter of 2015 as compared to $9.6 million in the second quarter of 2014. G&A expense in the first half of 2015 was

$20.5 million as compared to $19.5 million in the first half of 2014.

Net loss in the second quarter of 2015 was $52.7 million or

$0.40 loss per share as compared to $32.6 million or $0.26 loss per share in the second quarter of 2014. Net loss in the first

half of 2015 was $18.8 million or $0.14 loss per share as compared to $78.8 million or $0.63 loss per share in the first half of

The company also announced the following upcoming presentations

IASLC 16th World Congress on Lung Cancer, Denver, CO:

Abstract/Poster Title: "Etirinotecan Pegol (NKTR-102)

in the Treatment of Patients with Metastatic Non Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC) after Failure of 2nd Line Treatment: A Phase II

study", Aggarwal C., et al.

Date: September 9, 2015, 9:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Mountain

CRI-CIMT-EATI-AACR Inaugural International Cancer Immunotherapy

Conference, Translating Science into Survival 2015, New York, NY:

Abstract/Poster Title: "Antitumor activity of the CD122-biased

immunostimulatory cytokine combined with immune checkpoint blockade requires innate and adaptive immunity", Langowski,

Date: September 18, 2015, 4:30-6:30 p.m. Eastern Time

Nektar Investor and Analyst R&D Day, St. Regis Hotel,

Date: October 8, 2015, 12:00-3:30 p.m. Eastern Time

Conference Call to Discuss Second Quarter 2015 Financial

Nektar management will host a conference call to review the

results beginning at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time/2:00 p.m. Pacific Time today, Wednesday, August 5, 2015.

This press release and a live audio-only Webcast of the conference

call can be accessed through a link that is posted on the home page and Investor Relations section of the Nektar website: http://www.nektar.com.

The web broadcast of the conference call will be available for replay through Monday, September 7, 2015.

To access the conference call, follow these

Dial: (877) 881.2183 (U.S.); (970) 315.0453 (international)

Passcode: 97434654 (Nektar Therapeutics is the host)

In the event that any non-GAAP financial measure is discussed

on the conference call that is not described in the press release, or explained on the conference call, related information will

be made available on the Investor Relations page at the Nektar website as soon as practical after the conclusion of the conference

Nektar Therapeutics has a robust R&D pipeline in pain, oncology,

hemophilia and other therapeutic areas. In the area of pain, Nektar has an exclusive worldwide license agreement with AstraZeneca

for MOVANTIK (naloxegol), the first FDA-approved once-daily oral peripherally-acting mu-opioid receptor antagonist (PAMORA)

medication for the treatment of opioid-induced constipation (OIC), in adult patients with chronic, non-cancer pain. The product

is also approved in the European Union as MOVENTIG (naloxegol) and is indicated for adult patients with OIC who have had an

inadequate response to laxatives. The AstraZeneca agreement also includes NKTR-119, an earlier stage development program that is

a co-formulation of MOVANTIK and an opioid. NKTR-181, a wholly-owned mu-opioid analgesic molecule for chronic pain conditions,

is in Phase 3 development. NKTR-171, a wholly-owned new sodium channel blocker being developed as an oral therapy for the treatment

of peripheral neuropathic pain, is in Phase 1 clinical development. In hemophilia, BAX 855, a longer-acting PEGylated Factor VIII

therapeutic is in Phase 3 development conducted by partner Baxter. A BLA for BAX 855 was filed by Baxter to the US FDA in December,

2014 and is currently under review. In anti-infectives, Amikacin Inhale is in Phase 3 studies conducted by Bayer Healthcare as

an adjunctive treatment for intubated and mechanically ventilated patients with Gram-negative pneumonia.

Nektar's technology has enabled nine approved products in the

U.S. or Europe through partnerships with leading biopharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca's MOVANTIK, UCB's Cimzia

for Crohn's disease and rheumatoid arthritis, Roche's PEGASYS for hepatitis C and Amgen's Neulasta for neutropenia.

Nektar is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with additional

operations in Huntsville, Alabama and Hyderabad, India. Further information about the company and its drug development programs

and capabilities may be found online at http://www.nektar.com.

MOVANTIK is a trademark and MOVENTIG is a registered

trademark of the AstraZeneca group of companies.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains "forward-looking statements"

within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements can be identified by words

such as: "anticipate," "intend," "plan," "expect," "believe," "should,"

"may," "will" and similar references to future periods. Examples of forward-looking statements include, among

others, statements we make regarding the potential of MOVANTIK, AstraZeneca's planned commercial launch of MOVANTIK in Europe

and Canada, the enrollment status of the SUMMIT-07 efficacy study of NKTR-181, the projected start date of the clinical program

for NKTR-214, Baxalta's regulatory and commercial launch plans for ADYNOVATE, and the value and potential of our polymer

conjugate technology and research and development pipeline. Forward-looking statements are neither historical facts nor assurances

of future performance. Instead, they are based only on our current beliefs, expectations and assumptions regarding the future of

our business, future plans and strategies, anticipated events and trends, the economy and other future conditions. Because forward-looking

statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult

to predict and many of which are outside of our control. Our actual results may differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking

statements. Therefore, you should not rely on any of these forward-looking statements. Important factors that could cause our actual

results to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements include, among others, (i) the commercial potential

of a new drug at the early stages of commercial launch, such as MOVANTIK, is difficult to predict and will have a significant impact

on our future results of operation and financial condition; (ii) the timing of the commencement or end of clinical trials and the