Exhibit 31.1

                             CERTIFICATION

I, Kerry P. Gray, the President and Chief Executive Officer of Access
Pharmaceuticals, Inc., certify that:


1. I have reviewed this quarterly report on Form 10-Q of Access
Pharmaceuticals, Inc.;

2. Based on my knowledge, this quarterly report does not contain any
untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact
necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances
under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to
the period covered by this quarterly report;

3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial
information included in this quarterly report, fairly present in all material
respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of
the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this quarterly
report;

4. The registrant's other certifying officers and I are responsible for
establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures (as
defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) for the
registrant and we have:

a. Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such
disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision
to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including
its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others within those
entities, particularly during the period in which this quarterly report is
being prepared;

b. [Omitted pursuant to SEC Final Rule Release 33-8238]

c. Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and
procedures and presented in this quarterly report our conclusions about
the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end
of the period covered by this quarterly report based on such evaluation;
and

d. Disclosed  in this quarterly report any change in the registrant's
internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the
registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth fiscal
quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or
is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control
over financial reporting .

5. The registrant's other certifying officers and I have disclosed, based
on our most recent evaluation, to the registrant's auditors and the audit
committee of registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the
equivalent function):

a. All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or
operation of internal control over financial reporting which are
reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record,
process, summarize and report financial information; and

b. Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or
other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's internal
controls.

Date: August 14, 2003

/s/ Kerry P. Gray
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Kerry P. Gray
President and Chief Executive Officer