Nektar Therapeutics (NASDAQ: NKTR), a United States-based biopharmaceutical company, has named Brian Kotzin, MD as its interim chief medical officer, head of Development effective immediately, it was reported on Tuesday.

Dr Kotzin was the senior vice president, Clinical Development and head of Immunology at Nektar. He has held the position of vice president, Global Clinical Development and head of the Inflammation Therapeutic area at Amgen, head of Clinical Immunology in the Department of Medicine and director of the Autoimmunity Center of Excellence at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, professor in the Departments of Medicine, Paediatrics, and Immunology at the National Jewish Medical and Research Center in Denver and chief of the Rheumatology Section at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in Denver.

Dr. Kotzin holds a BS in mathematics from the University of Southern California and an MD from Stanford University School of Medicine and is a postdoctoral fellow in the Division of Immunology and Rheumatology at Stanford University School of Medicine and board certified in rheumatology and internal medicine.