Oro Valley-based Ventana Medical Systems ended a long-running hostile-takeover bid by a Swiss drugmaker Tuesday, saying it will merge with Roche Holding AG but will remain in the Tucson area.
The purchase marks another major investment in a local biotech firm by a global pharmaceutical company. Merck & Co. made a multi-million-dollar investment this October in Tucson-based High Throughput Genomics, and Sanofi-Aventis' expansion in Oro Valley began in fall 2007.
The $3.4 billion deal, announced early Tuesday, gives the global-diagnostic maker the area's largest biotech firm — with more than 600 employees locally — at $89.50 per share.
"These are not only very big companies, but they are critical parts of big companies; really, gems within those companies that are located right here," said Dr. Raymond Woosley, president of the Tucson-based Critical Path Institute, a public-private partnership with the Food and Drug Administration created to safely accelerate the process of bringing therapies to market.
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Ventana, founded by University of Arizona pathologist Dr. Thomas Grogan in 1985, specializes in cancer-tissue testing at its Oro Valley campus, 1910 E. Innovation Park Dr.
Roche first announced in June 2007 it would make a $3 billion bid for Ventana, a move that was met favorably on Wall Street: Ventana's shares closed the next day at $76.43, up nearly 50 percent, in trading on the Nasdaq exchange.
What followed were several tender offers for Ventana at $75 per share, which the company called "grossly inadequate."
Nina Ossana, chair of the Bioindustry Organization of Southern Arizona, said the purchase "validates the quality of companies we have."
"We have three of the majors in town right now," she said, referring to the Roche, Sanofi-Aventis and Merck presence. "That's got to make people notice us."