NEWS Release

Wex Completes Tetrodin™ Trial Enrollment

Date: January 4, 2005

Toronto Stock Exchange Trading Symbol: WXI
http://www.wexpharma.com
E-mail: wex@wexpharma.com

Vancouver, Canada, (January 4, 2005) - Wex Pharmaceuticals Inc. (TSX:WXI) is pleased to announce that it has successfully completed the enrollment and dosing of patients during the month of December for the ongoing Phase IIa opioid dependence study with Tetrodin™ (Wex's proprietary formulation of Tetrodotoxin-TTX). This randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study evaluates the safety and efficacy of Tetrodin™ in decreasing the severity of withdrawal symptoms in opiate-dependent subjects who are receiving methadone.

Opioid dependence is characterized by a withdrawal syndrome that occurs when opioid agonists are abruptly discontinued or their activity is antagonized. Managing withdrawal is a critical step in initiating treatment for many patients who are opioid dependent. Traditional medical management of opioid withdrawal involves the substitution of a long-acting opioid for shorter-acting opioids and gradual tapering.

Results of the Tetrodin™ study are expected to be released in the spring of 2005.

About WEX Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Wex Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a pharmaceutical company dedicated to the discovery of new therapeutic agents for the treatment of moderate to severe pain, symptom relief associated with addiction withdrawal from opioid abuse, and medicines designed for local and regional anaesthesia. The Company's principle business strategy is to derive drugs from naturally occurring toxins and develop proprietary products for North American, European and International markets. The Company also generates revenues from sales of generic products manufactured at its facility in China .

Forward Looking Statement Disclaimer

Statements in this news release are forward-looking statements which may not be based on historical fact, including without limitation statements containing the words "believe", "may", "plan", "will", "estimate", "anticipates", "intends", "expects" and similar expressions. Such forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, events or developments to be materially different from any future results, events or developments expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others, WEX's stage of development, product revenues which are difficult to predict, foreign currency exchange risk, additional capital requirements, risks associated with the completion of clinical trials, the ability to protect its intellectual property and dependence on collaborative partners. These factors should be considered carefully and readers are cautioned not to place undue rel ian ce on such forward-looking statements. The company disclaims any obligation to update any such factors or to publicly announce the result of any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect future results, events or developments.