Ex-biotech CEO also quits state panel
Stock-option probe led to Medarex exit
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
BY JEFF MAY
Star-Ledger Staff
After his ouster last month as chief executive of the Princeton biotech Medarex, Donald Drakeman quietly resigned as chairman of a New Jersey commission that promotes economic growth through homegrown research.
Drakeman stepped down from Medarex in early November, after the company completed an internal probe into backdated stock options during his tenure. The company said it found no evidence of fraud or "willful misconduct," but board members thought it best that Drakeman and the company's former chief financial officer leave immediately.
At the time of Drakeman's departure, Gov. Jon Corzine instructed his chief counsel to review the ex-CEO's status as chairman of the state Commission on Science and Technology.
But on Nov. 21, Drakeman sent an e-mail resigning from the body, which controls $17.5 million in grants and loans to keep New Jersey competitive in the high-technology sector.
"As far as we're concerned, the matter is concluded," Corzine spokesman Brendan Gilfillan said in an e-mail yesterday.
The state issued no public announcement that Drakeman had stepped down from the post. His name simply vanished from the list of members on the commission's Web site.
James Coleman Jr., the commission's vice chair, will now lead the body, and another appointee will be named to fill Drakeman's open spot.
"We will undertake a thorough search to find the most highly qualified individual to fill the vacancy, as we do with all of our appointments and nominations," Gilfillan said.
Drakeman's wife said he was traveling yesterday and could not be reached for comment.
Medarex's stock-option practices remain under investigation by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney's Office in New Jersey. The company is currently searching for a new chief executive, and looking to revise its financial statements to reflect compensation charges associated with the backdated options.
Because filings of its quarterly reports with the SEC have been delayed as it reviews its financial statements, Medarex is in violation of listing standards with Nasdaq and faces delisting.
Yet many analysts remain bullish about the company's prospects because it has more than 30 promising treatments in development.
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