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CONTACTS:
LORUS THERAPEUTICS INC.             CANADIAN MEDIA CONTACT:                 US MEDIA CONTACT
Corporate Communications            Hugh Mansfield                          Jennifer Taylor
Grace Tse                           Mansfield Communications Inc.           Mansfield Communications Inc.
Tel: (416) 798-1200 ext. 380        Tel:   (416) 599-0024                   Tel: (212) 370-5045
Email:  ir@lorusthera.com           Email: hugh@mcipr.com                   Email:  jennifer@mcipr.com



        LORUS THERAPEUTICS PRESENTS AT CANADA'S LEADING BIOPHARMACEUTICAL
                            SYMPOSIUM IN QUEBEC CITY

           -Lorus reviews progress of its extensive oncology pipeline-



TSX:     LOR
OTC BB:  LORFF

TORONTO, CANADA, OCTOBER 3, 2003 - Lorus Therapeutics Inc. ("Lorus") announced
today that Dr. Jim Wright, CEO of Lorus, will present a comprehensive review of
Lorus' oncology pipeline this morning at 10:00 a.m. at BioContact Quebec 2003,
Canada's leading biopharmaceutical conference.

The presentation will include a discussion of the company's research and
pre-clinical programs, and highlight the significant progress Lorus has made in
the clinical programs with six clinical trials of three different anticancer
drugs currently underway in North America.

The BioContact conference provides a forum for participants in the global
biotechnology industry to network and meet with representatives from major
biopharmaceutical companies from across North America, Europe and Asia.

About Lorus

Lorus is a biopharmaceutical company focused on the research and development of
cancer therapies. Lorus' goal is to capitalize on its research, pre-clinical,
clinical and regulatory expertise by developing new drug candidates that can be
used, either alone, or in combination, to successfully manage cancer. Through
its own discovery efforts and an active acquisition and in-licensing program,
Lorus is building a portfolio of promising anti-cancer drugs. Late-stage
clinical developments and marketing will be done in cooperation with strategic
pharmaceutical partners. Founded in 1986, Lorus Therapeutics Inc. is a public
company listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol LOR, and on the
OTC BB exchange under the symbol LORFF.

Except for historical information, this press release contains forward-looking
statements, which reflect the Company's current expectation regarding future
events. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, which
may cause actual results to differ materially from those statements. Those risks
and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, changing market conditions,
the successful and timely completion of clinical studies, the establishment of
corporate alliances, the impact of competitive products and pricing, new product
development, uncertainties related to the regulatory approval process, and other
risks detailed from time-to-time in the Company's ongoing quarterly filings,
annual information form, annual reports and 20-F filings.

Lorus Therapeutics Inc.'s press releases are available through the Company's
Internet site: http://www.lorusthera.com.

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