Nektar names new COO

His responsibilities include overseeing and managing all aspects of the PEGylation Business Unit, including research and manufacturing, as well as operations across the company. He will also serve as chairman of Nektar India. He will report to Nektar president and CEO Howard Robin.

Dr Chowrira had previously served as executive director, worldwide licensing and external research at Merck & Co in San Francisco. He was responsible for identifying and evaluating R&D, licensing and partnering opportunities across all therapeutics areas, therapeutic modalities (including small molecules, biologics, vaccines and oligonucleotides), and technology platforms, throughout Asia.

Mr Robin said: “Bharatt has a rare combination of expertise in molecular biology, business strategy, and intellectual property – and a proven track record of building shareholder value. He will be hugely important to our efforts to develop a robust therapeutic pipeline by leveraging and expanding our industry leading PEGylation technology platform.”