Ventana to Present at Thomas Weisel and Bear Stearns Conferences

Market Wire, September, 2005

Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: VMSI) today announced that it will present at two conferences in September. Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer Nicholas Malden will present at the Thomas Weisel Partners Healthcare Tailwinds Conference, on September 9 at 9:10 am EST in Boston, MA at the Four Seasons Boston.

President and Chief Executive Officer Christopher Gleeson will speak at the Bear Stearns 18th Annual Healthcare Conference on Tuesday, September 13 at 9:30 am EST at the Grand Hyatt New York.

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.

For more information on Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. visit www.ventanamed.com.

Contact: Christopher M. Gleeson President and CEO (520) 229-3787 Nick Malden Chief Financial Officer (520) 229-3857 VENTANA MEDICAL SYSTEMS, INC. 1910 Innovation Park Drive Tucson, Arizona 85755 (520) 887-2155