Adherex Issued Cancer Diagnostics Patent: New Approach to Cancer Diagnostics and the Assessment of Cancer Progression.

Business Editors/Health/Medical Writers

OTTAWA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27, 2004

Adherex Technologies Inc. (TSX:AHX), an Ottawa-based biopharmaceutical company, today announced it was issued a new US patent for methods of diagnosing and evaluating the status and progression of cancer. "This patent describes a number of new methods that may be useful in the detection of prostate, ovarian or breast cancer, as well as leukemia," explains Dr. Orest Blaschuk, Chief Scientist and a scientific founder of Adherex. "These methods are based on the discovery that some cancer cells may express new adhesion molecules on their surfaces as they become metastatic, thereby enabling their identification." This latest Adherex patent provides the technological basis for "mapping" the cadherin profile on cancer cells. Profiling the cadherins could potentially be used to aid in the early diagnosis of cancer and to give guidance to doctors on which therapeutic approaches to use at different stages of the disease for each individual patient.

"This is a very powerful addition and expansion of Adherex's anti-cancer portfolio," said Dr. William Peters, Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman of Adherex. "Any methodology that facilitates earlier diagnosis of the cancer and assessment of its metastatic potential would greatly assist the oncologist in choosing the best therapeutic approach to use in the treatment of that specific patient with cancer."

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

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