Ventana Obtains Summary Judgment in Biogenex Litigation

Market Wire, February, 2005

Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: VMSI), announced today the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California San Jose Division has issued summary judgment rulings in favor of Ventana in the BioGenex v. Ventana litigation. Ventana was successful in obtaining a judgment of noninfringement of BioGenex' U.S. Patent 6,451,551. In regard to BioGenex' U.S. Patent 5,578,452, the Court ruled the patent invalid in the context of this litigation. Finally, the Court denied BioGenex' motion to add its U.S. Patent 6,632,598 to this litigation.

Ventana develops, manufactures, and markets instrument/reagent systems that automate slide preparation and staining in clinical histology and drug discovery laboratories worldwide. Ventana's clinical systems are important tools used in the diagnosis and treatment of cancer and infectious diseases. Ventana's drug discovery systems are used to accelerate the discovery of new drug targets and evaluate the safety of new drug compounds.

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Federal Securities laws. These forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, statements regarding Ventana's patents or the infringement by Ventana on another company's patents. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, and actual results may vary materially. A full discussion of risks and uncertainties is available in our most recent Annual Report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Form 10-K and all subsequent SEC filings. Copies of filings made with the SEC are available through the SEC's electronic data gathering analysis retrieval system (EDGAR) at www.sec.gov. We undertake no obligation following the date of this release to update or revise our forward-looking statements or to update the reasons actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements. We caution you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date such statements are made. Past performance is not indicative of future results. We cannot guarantee any future operating results, activity, performance, or achievement.

Visit the Ventana Medical Systems, Inc., website at www.ventanamed.com.

Contact: Christopher M. Gleeson President and CEO (520) 229-3787 Nick Malden Chief Financial Officer (520) 229-3857