Biotech firm expands its Oro Valley campus to nearly 60 acres

Ventana recently purchased 17.1 acres from Vistoso Partners LLC, the owners of the Rancho Vistoso retirement community, for $8.9 million. The new plot is part of nearly 60 acres Ventana owns in the development, Vistoso Partners said.

The recent purchase comes six months after Switzerland-based Roche Holding AG bought Ventana, 1910 E. Innovation Park Drive.

After finalizing the $3.4 billion deal in January, Roche officials said they planned to keep Ventana in Tucson while also rolling their new acquisition into the company's tissue-diagnostics division. Local experts at the time said the purchase validated the Tucson region's future as a biotech center.

Ventana spokeswoman Alana Bolton said the recent expansion was "important to move forward and improve patient health care globally."

"In order to do that, and to fulfill a 10-year plan, we need to plan for future growth," she said.

Bolton said Ventana plans to use the new, 17-acre site for office space and parking.

Previously, Ventana bought about 20 acres north and west of its campus on East Innovation Park Drive, located near another biotech firm, Sanofi-Aventis. Vistoso Partners said the company is in talks about another potential acquisition, but could not elaborate.

Dr. Raymond Woosley, president of the Tucson-based Critical Path Institute, called the purchase "a really good sign" of Roche's commitment to the Tucson area.

"To buy 17 acres next door sends the right signal," said Woosley, whose organization is a drug-research partnership with the Food and Drug Administration. "It's further evidence that Roche is really committed to personalized medicine."

Did you know

Ventana Medical Systems was founded by UA pathologist Dr. Thomas Grogan in 1985 and specializes in cancer-tissue testing instruments and materials.

Ventana employed about 680 people locally at the end of 2007, according to the Star 200 survey of major Southern Arizona employers.