No, they look so similar because they were designed with the same ideas in mind, notably the sloped armour. However, the Panther was a medium tank and the Tiger II was a heavy tank like the Tiger I, there are large differences in their employment and organization, so even though they're similar in some aspects, it doesn't make them related.
BTW, there was a proposal to produce a Panther II, which among other differences would have fielded the Tiger II's 88mm KwK 43 gun. This never happened, of course, though I believe one prototype was actually built.
EDIT: Gah!
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