Roche announces 500 jobs, $180M expansion in AZ

Rocheannounced a $180 million expansion in AZ, which includes 500 new employees, doubling Ventana's workforce in five years.

Roche's Tucson, AZ, subsidiary, Ventana Medical Systems, has received the green light for a major expansion. The parent company announced a $180 million expansion to its current Oro Valley Campus, which includes 500 new employees, doubling Ventana's workforce in five years.

The announcement comes as a relief for the Tucson area, which cements itself in the biotech industry. Ventana was courted by Indianapolis, southern California and northern New Jersey as other potential sites for the expansion. "This project raises Arizona global competitiveness in bioscience and will have a lasting impact as we compete to attract other global companies," Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer said.

Ventana's Arizona connections run deep; the company was originally spun off from the University of Arizona and was bought out by Roche in 2008. Oro Valley Mayor Satish Hiremath said no monetary concessions were made for the expansion, but the city will expedite its development efforts, according to th