ADHEREX ANNOUNCES COMPLETION OF PATIENT ENROLLMENT AND MAINTAINS TSX LISTING STATUS Research Triangle Park, NC

ADHEREX ANNOUNCES COMPLETION OF PATIENT

ENROLLMENT AND MAINTAINS TSX LISTING STATUS

Research Triangle Park, NC, January 7,

2013 - Adherex Technologies Inc. (TSX: AHX, OTCQB: ADHXF), a biopharmaceutical company focused on the development of eniluracil

and 5-fluorouracil, is pleased to announce the following positive developments:

Rosty Raykov, Chief Executive Officer of Adherex, said "We

are pleased to have completed the enrollment phase of the trial within a reasonable time frame and wish to thank our CRO, contractors

and employees whose efforts helped make this possible. We are also very pleased that the clinical investigator

and patient communities have expressed strong support for eniluracil. We look forward to completing the treatment phase of the

trial and releasing final efficacy and safety results later this year."

Eniluracil is a mechanism-based inactivator of DPD, the enzyme

that rapidly breaks down 5-FU. Accordingly, Eniluracil increases the 5-FU elimination half-life from about 15 minutes to 5 hours

and enables 5-FU to be administered orally, making it 100% orally bioavailable. In addition, Eniluracil prevents the formation

of -fluoro- -alanine (F-Bal), the 5-FU-breakdown product. F-Bal appears to cause hand-foot syndrome and neurotoxicity.

It also decreases the antitumor activity of 5-FU in laboratory animals. Furthermore, because DPD is present in variable levels,

the highly variable and nonlinear pharmacokinetics of 5-FU become predictable and linear when DPD is inactivated by Eniluracil

The weekly regimen used in the current Phase 2 trial is based

on a Phase 1 Eniluracil/5-FU/Leucovorin trial that produced durable tumor responses and no hand-foot syndrome in advanced colorectal

cancer patients who were refractory to intravenous 5-FU/Leucovorin. In a similar Phase 2 study with capecitabine, no tumor responses

occurred and 87% of the patients experienced hand-foot syndrome, a painful condition that may require dosing interruptions and

dose reductions. The regimen was modified according to the methods described in the Adherex patent applications.

Except for historical information described in this press release,

all other statements are forward-looking. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties inherent

in the Company's business that could cause actual results to vary, including such risks that regulatory clinical

and guideline developments may change, scientific data may not be sufficient to meet regulatory standards or receipt of required

regulatory clearances or approvals, clinical results may not be replicated in actual patient settings, protection offered

by the Company's patents and patent applications may be challenged, invalidated or circumvented by its competitors, the

available market for the Company's products will not be as large as expected, the Company's products will

not be able to penetrate one or more targeted markets, revenues will not be sufficient to fund further development and clinical

studies, the Company may not meet its future capital needs, and its ability to obtain additional funding, as well as uncertainties

relative to varying product formulations and a multitude of diverse regulatory and marketing requirements in different countries

and municipalities, and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission

including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. Adherex Technologies, Inc. disclaims any obligation

to update these forward-looking statements except as required by law.

For a more detailed discussion of related risk factors, please refer to our public filings available

at www.sec.gov and www.sedar.com.

For further information, please contact:

Chief Executive Officer

Adherex Technologies Inc.