NEWS Release

WEX RECEIVES €2,000,000 FROM CO-DEVELOPMENT PARTNER

Date: April 7, 2005

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

Vancouver (April 7, 2005) - WEX Pharmaceuticals Inc. ("WEX" or the "Company”) is pleased to announce that it has received a €2,000,000 payment from its co-development partner, Laboratorios del Dr. Esteve S.A. ("ESTEVE").  This payment represents ESTEVE's commitment to the recently completed Canadian Phase IIa clinical study of Tectin™.  WEX currently has an ongoing Canadian Phase IIb/III clinical study being conducted at 24 leading pain centres.

WEX licensed the European rights to its Tetrodotoxin (TTX) products to ESTEVE in November 2002 for a commitment of CDN$62,000,000.  This agreement was expanded last month to include certain global co-development work.  ESTEVE's remaining commitment to this project is approx. €36,200,000 (approx. CDN$57,000,000 at current exchange rates).  This commitment is comprised of European clinical development costs and additional payments to WEX.

Frank Shum, President & CEO said, "We greatly appreciate ESTEVE's financial, scientific, research and clinical contributions furthering our goal to global commercialization of Tectin™".

About WEX Pharmaceuticals Inc.

WEX Pharmaceuticals Inc. is a 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 principal business strategy is to derive drugs from naturally occurring toxins and develop proprietary products for the Global market.  The Company’s Chinese subsidiary sells generic products manufactured at its facility in China and are expanding its marketing efforts in the rest of Asia.

Forward Looking Statements

This News Release contains forward-looking statements which may not be based on historical fact. 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 dependence on ESTEVE, ESTEVE's planned clinical trials, and the regulatory approval and risks associated with clinical trials.  These factors should be considered carefully and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance 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.