Medarex Inc., a biotechnology firm with close ties to the College, is moving this summer from its West Lebanon offices to Clinton, N.J. partly because of difficulties hiring employees in the Upper Valley.
Currently located in the Airport Industrial Park, Medarex will move in August to a state-of-the-art facility 40 minutes from its national headquarters in Princeton, N.J., said Nathan Dinces, Medarex vice president of operations.
Medarex's New Hampshire facility employs 23 people, Dinces said. Seven people work in the national headquarters, which is in charge of the company's administrative affairs.
Medarex's New Hampshire facility is involved with the research, development and production of antibodies used in the therapeutic treatment of cancer and infectious diseases, Dinces said.
Dinces said Medarex will lease space in an 800,000 square foot facility originally built for Exxon.
The new facility "provides services and infrastructure far superior to anything we could have built in New Hampshire," Dinces said.
Although Medarex recently renovated its current space at a cost of $150,000, Dinces said it does not provide all that the new location has to offer.
"The structure of the [current] building can't support all the utilities that need to be brought in," Dinces said.
In addition to the advantages offered by the new space, Medarex's move is prompted by difficulties recruiting new employees, Dinces said.
"It's difficult to hire in the Upper Valley," Dinces said. He said the company has trouble recruiting workers because the area is relatively isolated and the spouses of prospective employees have a hard time finding jobs.
Dinces said the company's growth requires them to hire new scientists and that the new location will offer a large pool of potential employees.
In February, the College cleared Medarex of anonymous allegations received last August claiming scientific misconduct and financial impropriety.
In a letter to the Dartmouth community, College President James Freedman declared the allegations "meritless" in response to the findings of two separate College committees.
An internal Medarex investigation and a probe by the financial underwriters of the company's stock also cleared the company of any wrongdoing.
Dinces said these allegations did not affect Medarex's decision to move.
College spokesman Alex Huppe said Medarex's move will not affect Dartmouth's relationship with the company but added, "we don't like to see jobs leave the area."
Medarex was incorporated in July, 1987 as a joint venture between the Essex Chemical Corporation and the College to apply biotechnology developed by researchers at the Dartmouth Medical School, Huppe said.The College received part ownership of Medarex in exchange for granting the company the exclusive rights to certain biotechnology developed at the College, Huppe said.
The College owns 420,000 shares of Medarex common stock worth approximately $2.4 million according to Wednesday's closing stock prices. This represents 6.7 percent of the company's common stock, said Jonathan King, the College's director of investments.
Dinces said several of Medarex's employees will move with the company to New Jersey but added that neither of the two Dartmouth professors associated with the company will move.
Michael Fanger, professor of microbiology, and Paul Guyre, professor of physiology, are founding scientists and part-owners in Medarex.
Referring to his role with the company as providing "distant consultation," Guyre said the move will not affect him except for having to make an occasional trip to New Jersey.
