Adherex Appoints Scientific and Clinical Advisory Committee; Leading International Experts to Advise Company on its Cancer Programs.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

DURHAM, N.C. & OTTAWA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 13, 2004

Adherex Technologies Inc. (TSX:AHX), a biopharmaceutical company with a broad portfolio of products under development, today announced the appointment of the members of its Scientific and Clinical Advisory Committee.

"We welcome the support of this renowned group of medical scientists who will be on our Scientific and Clinical Advisory Committee," said Donald W. Kufe, MD, Chairman of the Committee and a member of the Adherex Board of Directors. "I look forward to working with this great group and with Adherex in overseeing the many exciting prospects the Company's portfolio offers."

"This very accomplished Scientific and Clinical Advisory Board brings a broad array of basic scientific, product development and clinical expertise to the Company which will compliment our internal strengths," said Dr. Orest Blaschuk, Chief Scientist of Adherex.

The following individuals have accepted appointments to the committee:

Daniel D. Von Hoff, MD

Dr. Von Hoff serves as Professor of Pathology, Molecular and Cellular Biology, and Director of the Arizona Health Science Center's Cancer Therapeutic Programs at the University of Arizona in Tucson. He is also Chief Scientific Officer for US Oncology. Dr. Von Hoff's major interest is in the development of new anticancer agents. He and his laboratory are concentrating on the discovery of new targets in pancreatic cancer. Dr. Von Hoff has published more than 490 papers, 122 book chapters, and more than 830 abstracts. He is also the past President of the American Association for Cancer Research, a Fellow of the American College of Physicians, and a member and past board member of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.

Harold F. Dvorak, MD

Dr. Harold Dvorak is the Chief of the Department of Pathology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Mallinckrodt Professor of Pathology at Harvard Medical School. He was awarded the 2002 Rous-Whipple Award by the American Society of Investigative Pathology for his distinguished career in research. His prodigious research has produced some of pathology's fundamental contributions to the understanding of inflammation as well as of cellular immunity. He is best known for his groundbreaking work in the field of angiogenesis research, having discovered an angiogenic factor known as VPF (vascular permeability factor, now also known as vascular endothelial growth factor or VEGF) in 1983. This discovery was the first to provide a fundamental explanation for how tumors induce new blood vessel growth, and help explain how the blood vessels of malignant tumors differ from those of normal tissue with respect to organization, structure and function.

Emil Frei, III, MD

Dr. Frei is the Director and Physician-in-Chief Emeritus and the first Richard and Susan Smith Distinguished Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School. He is the inaugural recipient of the American Academy of Cancer Research Award for Lifetime Achievement in Cancer Research, having been presented the honor in March 2004. In 1983, Dr. Frei was co-recipient of the prestigious Charles E. Kettering Prize for Cancer Research from the General Motors Cancer Research Foundation, a prize shared with Dr. Emil Freireich. Drs. Frei and Freireich developed the world's first treatment leading to a complete cure for leukemia patients. Their team was the first to devise the revolutionary approach of combination chemotherapy using several drugs in combination to treat patients, a practice which has gained widespread acceptance. The method is credited by other specialists as the single most important advance in the past quarter century in saving the lives of persons with cancer. Dr. Frei previously served as a member of Adherex's Board of Directors.

Ann Thor, MD

Dr. Thor is the Lloyd E. Rader Professor and Chair, Department of Pathology, Adjunct Professor of Surgery, Associate Director for Translational Research and the Program Director for Breast Cancer Program at the University of Oklahoma. Her more than 150 published works primarily focus on investigating the link between hormones and the development of breast cancer. Dr. Thor's research has included pivotal work involving various diagnostic, prognostic and predictive markers for breast cancer.

Mark Hughes, MD, PhD

Dr. Hughes is President of the Genesis Genetics Institute in Michigan. He is a world renowned expert in techniques of genetic and molecular expression analysis using genomic and proteomic techniques. Previously, he was Professor & Chair of Genetics at Georgetown University and he headed Reproductive Genetics at the NIH Human Genome Center (NHGRI). His research focuses on developmental biology and gene expression profiling in the early embryo and human stem cells. He pioneered the technology of pre-implantation genetic diagnosis and his work focuses on reproductive genetics, and molecular and cytogenetic diagnostic technology development.

Joseph Loscalzo, MD, PhD

Dr. Loscalzo is Wade Professor and Chairman, Department of Medicine, Director of the Whitaker Cardiovascular Institute at Boston University School of Medicine and Physician-in-Chief, Boston Medical Center. He joined the Harvard faculty and staff at Brigham and Women's Hospital in 1984 and joined the faculty of Boston University in 1994, first as Chief of Cardiology and, in 1997, Chair of Medicine. One of America's most prominent cardiovascular investigators, Dr. Loscalzo will bring significant expertise to the molecular and clinical aspects of vascular targeting. He has received many awards including the Clinician-Scientist Award of the American Heart Association, the Research Career Development Award of the NIH, the George W. Thorn Award for Excellence in Teaching at Brigham and Women's Hospital, Educator of the Year Award in Clinical Medicine at Boston University, the Glaxo Cardiovascular Research Award, and election to the American Society for Clinical Investigation and Association of American Physicians. He has served on several NIH study sections and editorial boards, and is Director of the NIH-sponsored Specialized Center for Research in Ischemic Heart Disease at Boston University, Chair of the Executive Committee of the NIH-sponsored Cardiovascular Proteomics Center at Boston University, immediate-past Chair of the Cardiovascular Subspecialty Board of the American Board of Internal Medicine, and Chair of the Board of Scientific Counselors of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the NIH.

Stephen Byers, PhD

Dr. Byers is the Director of the MD/PhD Program, Professor, Oncology and Cell Biology, Lombardi Cancer Center and a Member of the Interdisciplinary Program in Tumor Biology at Georgetown University Medical Center in Washington, D.C. His research focus is on cadherin/catenin adhesion and signaling system in breast and colon cancer and its interaction with nuclear receptors and tumor suppressor genes. Projects ongoing in his laboratory include studies of the regulation of beta-catenin signaling emphasizing the development of novel technologies with which to regulate it; the interaction between beta-catenin and steroid receptor pathways; cross regulation of beta-catenin and cytokine signaling pathways; the characterization and regulation of cadherin-11 in breast cancer; the identification and characterization of a new APC-like gene, a candidate tumor suppressor in sporadic breast and ovarian cancer; vascular and ostetoblast mimicry in breast cancer; beta-catenin regulation of protein translation; and regulation of beta-catenin signaling by mechanical strain.

Robert Herfkens, MD

Dr. Robert Herfkens is a Professor of Radiology and Director of Magnetic Resonance Imaging at Stanford University. His background includes training in internal medicine, nuclear medicine and radiology. He has published over 200 papers, most in relationship to Magnetic Resonance Imaging. He is past president of the International Society for Magnetic Resonance Imaging. His current research interests include cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging, fast imaging techniques and development of techniques for image-guided therapies, as well as cardiovascular and Body CT.

"We are honored to have attracted such a terrific group of advisors to our Company," said Dr. William P. Peters, CEO and Chairman of Adherex. "We look forward to their insight as we work to develop our anti-cancer portfolio."

About Adherex Technologies

Adherex Technologies Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company with a broad portfolio of products under development. Four products are in clinical development including Exherin(TM), Adherex's lead cadherin antagonist compound, and STS, a drug that protects against severe hearing loss that is often produced by platinum-based anticancer agents. Adherex's intellectual property includes broad, interlocking protection for cadherin-mediated adhesion and represents what the Company believes to be the world's broadest portfolio of vascular targeting and cell adhesion modulating agents. The Company has offices in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina and Ottawa, Canada.

For more information, please visit Adherex's website at www.adherex.com.

This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction.

Certain information contained in this news release is forward-looking and is subject to unknown risks and uncertainties. The actual results, performance or achievements of the Company may differ materially from the results, performance or achievements of the Company expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements.