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                                  UNITED STATES
                       SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
                             Washington, D.C. 20549

                                    FORM 8-K

                                 CURRENT REPORT
     Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934

        Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): August 27, 2007

                               NEKTAR THERAPEUTICS
             (Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

          Delaware                   0-24006                  94-3134940
(State or other jurisdiction       (Commission              (IRS Employer
      of incorporation)            File Number)          Identification No.)

                               201 Industrial Road
                          San Carlos, California 94070
              (Address of principal executive offices and Zip Code)

       Registrant's telephone number, including area code: (650) 631-3100

Check  the  appropriate  box  below  if the  Form  8-K  filing  is  intended  to
simultaneously  satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the
following provisions:

|_|   Written  communications  pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17
      CFR 230.425)

|_|   Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR
      240.14a-12)

|_|   Pre-commencement  communications  pursuant  to  Rule  14d-2(b)  under  the
      Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

|_|   Pre-commencement  communications  pursuant  to  Rule  13e-4(c)  under  the
      Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

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

      On August 27, 2007,  the Board of Directors  of Nektar  Therapeutics  (the
"Company")  appointed  Mr.  Lutz  Lingnau as a new  director to fill the vacancy
created by  resolution  of the Board of  Directors  to increase  the  authorized
number of directors  from 9 to 10. Mr.  Lingnau will serve until the 2010 annual
meeting of stockholders or until his successor is duly elected and qualified. On
August 29, 2007, the Company issued a press release  announcing the  appointment
of Mr. Lingnau, a copy of which is included as Exhibit 99.1 to this filing.

      Mr. Lingnau, age 64, retired from Schering AG Group, Germany, in 2005 as a
member of Schering  AG's  Executive  Board and as Vice  Chairman,  President and
Chief Executive  Officer of Schering Berlin,  Inc., a United States  subsidiary.
Prior to his retirement, Mr. Lingnau was responsible for Schering AG's worldwide
specialized  therapeutics  and dermatology  businesses.  He joined Schering AG's
business  trainee  program in 1966.  Throughout  his career at  Schering  AG, he
served in various  capacities and in a number of  subsidiaries  in South America
and the United States,  including his roles as President of Berlex Laboratories,
Inc.,  from 1983 to 1985,  as the Head of Worldwide  Sales and  Marketing in the
Pharmaceutical  Division of Schering  AG, from 1985 to 1989,  and as Chairman of
Berlex  Laboratories,  Inc. from 1985 to 2005. Mr. Lingnau is currently a member
of the  Supervisory  Board of LANXESS AG,  Chairman of the Board of Directors of
Micropharma  Limited, a biotechnology  company, and was a member of the Board of
Directors of Sirna Therapeutics,  Inc., a biotechnology  company,  from February
2006  through the closing of the  acquisition  of Sirna by Merck & Co.,  Inc. in
December 2006.

      There are no  arrangements or  understandings  between Mr. Lingnau and any
other persons pursuant to which he was selected as a director.  Mr. Lingnau will
participate  in  the  Company's  Amended  and  Restated  Compensation  Plan  for
Non-Employee  Directors  filed by the  Company  on  February  23,  2007 with the
Securities and Exchange  Commission on a Current Report on Form 8-K. Mr. Lingnau
is not a party to any transaction with the Company that would require disclosure
under Item 404(a) of Securities and Exchange Commission's Regulation S-K.


Item 9.01  Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits:

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Exhibit
No.           Description
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99.1          Press release titled "Nektar Therapeutics Appoints Lutz Lingnau as
              New Board Member."

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                                   SIGNATURES

Pursuant  to the  requirement  of the  Securities  Exchange  Act  of  1934,  the
registrant  has duly  caused  this  report  to be  signed  on its  behalf by the
undersigned thereunto duly authorized.



                                        By: /s/ Gil M. Labrucherie
                                            -----------------------------------
                                                Gil M. Labrucherie
                                                Senior Vice President, General
                                                Counsel and Secretary

                                        Date:   August 29, 2007