Adherex Files Registration Statement with SEC-Footnote Reconciling 2003 Financials to U.S. GAAP Restated; No Change to Canadian Operating Results.

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. -- Adherex Technologies Inc. (TSX:AHX), a biopharmaceutical company with a broad portfolio of oncology products under development, today announced that the Company has filed a registration statement on Form 20-F with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") in order to prepare to list its common stock on a U.S.-based stock exchange, most likely the American Stock Exchange ("AMEX"). In conjunction with the SEC registration, the Company has restated the footnote reconciling its Canadian Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP") audited consolidated financial statements to U.S. GAAP for the year ended June 30, 2003, that were previously filed with the Ontario Securities Commission. Adherex expects to begin trading on the AMEX under the ticker symbol "ADH" later this fall, and will continue to trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the current "AHX" symbol.

"Our company is focusing on executing the development of Adherex' clinical-stage cancer therapeutics. We believe a U.S. listing may enable us to attract a new base of shareholders and improve stock liquidity," said William P. Peters, MD, PhD, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Adherex. "As we continue advancing Adherex' pipeline of unique oncology drugs and, in particular, our vascular targeting platform, it will be important for us to have easier access to the U.S. capital markets. A listing on the U.S. markets is a central part of our corporate strategy for increasing shareholder value by bringing important new medications to oncologists."

In conjunction with the SEC registration, the Company has restated the footnote in the 2003 audited consolidated financial statements, which reconciles Canadian GAAP to U.S. GAAP. The restated footnote relates to the accounting treatment of the intellectual property acquired in the Oxiquant acquisition.

"In our 2003 financial statements, Adherex elected to include a footnote that reconciled Canadian GAAP to U.S. GAAP in which we capitalized the intellectual property acquired from Oxiquant. Under Canadian GAAP, this transaction was accounted for as an asset and the intellectual property acquired is being amortized over its estimated useful life. This Canadian GAAP accounting treatment remains unchanged," said Jim Klein, Chief Financial Officer of Adherex. "In conjunction with our SEC registration, we have changed our U.S. GAAP accounting treatment to now record this intellectual property as 'in-process R&D' and have expensed rather than capitalized the intellectual property, which is the correct accounting treatment for U.S. GAAP purposes. This change reduces the assets in the U.S. GAAP Footnote 19 by $29.3 million and the liabilities by $10.7 million. The net loss in the U.S. GAAP footnote, that was originally shown as ($8.3) million, is now restated to ($26.9) million, resulting in a revised net loss per common share under U.S. GAAP of ($0.42) compared to a loss of ($0.13) per share as originally shown in the U.S. GAAP footnote. It is important to note that this change to the U.S. GAAP footnote in no way impacts the value of the intellectual property we acquired, nor does it change our 2003 Canadian GAAP operating results."

The restated 2003 audited consolidated financial statements will be electronically available from SEDAR at www.sedar.com and the Form 20-F will be electronically available from SEDAR and the SEC website at www.sec.gov. Both documents will also be posted and available for viewing on the Adherex website at www.adherex.com.

About Adherex Technologies

Adherex Technologies Inc. is a biopharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery and development of novel cancer therapeutics. We aim to be a leader in developing innovative treatments that address important unmet medical needs in cancer. We currently have four products in the clinical stage of development including Exherin(tm) and sodium thiosulfate (STS). Exherin(tm), our lead biotechnology angiolytic compound, selectively targets established blood vessels that feed solid tumors. STS, a drug from our specialty pharmaceuticals pipeline, protects against the disabling hearing loss that can often result from treatment with platinum-based chemotherapy drugs. With a diversified portfolio of unique preclinical and clinical-stage cancer compounds and a management team with expertise in identifying, developing and commercializing novel cancer therapeutics, Adherex is emerging as a pioneering oncology company. For more information, please visit Adherex' 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.