SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934
Release No. 50432 / September 23, 2004

ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDING
File No. 3-11680


In the Matter of

ANDREW S. MARKS,

Respondent.


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ORDER OF SUSPENSION PURSUANT TO RULE 102(e)(2) OF THE COMMISSION'S RULES OF PRACTICE

I.

The Securities and Exchange Commission ("Commission") deems it appropriate to issue an order of forthwith suspension of Andrew S. Marks ("Respondent" or "Marks") pursuant to Rule 102(e)(2) of the Commission's Rules of Practice [17 C.F.R. § 201.102(e)(2)].1

II.

The Commission finds that:

1. Marks, age 44, was, until February 2004, an attorney licensed to practice in the State of New York. He served as the Chief Patent Counsel for Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Inc. ("Vertex") from 1999 until he left Vertex in 2003.

2. Vertex was, at all relevant times, a Massachusetts corporation with its principal place of business in Cambridge, Massachusetts. A biotechnology company, Vertex's common stock was registered with the Commission pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") and traded principally on the NASDAQ National Market System.

3. In a criminal proceeding brought in United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, U.S. v. Andrew S. Marks, No. 03-10297 (DPW), a judgment was entered against Marks on January 12, 2004, convicting him of securities fraud in violation of Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. Marks' conviction was based on his guilty plea, on October 3, 2003, to a one-count Information charging him with violating Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act and Rule 10b-5 thereunder in connection with his September 21, 2001 sale of Vertex stock while in possession of material, nonpublic information concerning termination of a Vertex clinical trial.

4. As a result of his conviction, Marks was sentenced to serve a year and a day in prison, followed by two years of supervised release and to pay a $3,000 fine.

III.

In view of the foregoing, the Commission finds that Marks has been convicted of a felony within the meaning of Rule 102(e)(2) of the Commission's Rules of Practice.

Accordingly, it is ORDERED that Andrew S. Marks is forthwith suspended from appearing or practicing before the Commission pursuant to Rule 102(e)(2) of the Commission's Rules of Practice.

By the Commission.

Jonathan G. Katz
Secretary

Endnotes