NEWS Release

WEX Completes Investigators' Meeting

Date: August 25, 2005

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

Vancouver, BC (August 25, 2005) - WEX Pharmaceuticals Inc. (“WEX” or the “Company”) today announced the completion of the first of three scheduled investigators’ meetings for the re-launch of its Phase IIb/III clinical trial of Tectin™ for the treatment of moderate to severe cancer-related pain.

Investigators and study co-ordinators from the clinical sites in Quebec attended this meeting in Montreal.  The main objectives of the meeting were to review specific aspects of the recently amended clinical study protocol and to re-define each site’s recruitment plan according to their local structures in order to accelerate the patient recruitment process to achieve study completion by June 2006.

Dr. Jean Bourgouin, CMO of the Company, commented “The successful conclusion of this first meeting marks another significant step towards the achievement of our goal to commercialize Tectin™ in the most expeditious manner.  The participants’ reception of the amendments was positive and we ended the meeting with each site’s commitment to increase patient recruitment.”

The remaining investigators’ meetings will be held in Vancouver on August 31, 2005 with the participation of the clinical sites in Alberta and British Columbia, and in Toronto, on September 8, 2005 for the sites in Ontario, Manitoba and New Foundland.

About WEX Pharmaceuticals Inc.

WEX Pharmaceuticals Inc. is dedicated to the discovery, development, manufacture and commercialization of innovative drug products to treat moderate to severe acute and chronic pain, symptom pain relief associated with addiction withdrawal from opioid abuse and medicines designed for local 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.

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.  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.