Exit from Non-Strategic Business, Manufacturing Restructuring Also
                                Affect Results

    TUCSON, Ariz., June 29 /PRNewswire/ -- Ventana Medical Systems, Inc.
(Nasdaq: VMSI), today announced that it will report revenues and profitability
short of expectations for the quarter ended June 30, 2000.
    The Company anticipates that it will report revenues in the range of
$17.5 million to $18.5 million for the quarter ended June 30, 2000, compared
with $20 to $21 million that the Company had expected.  The Company also
expects to report an operating loss due to recent temporary and unexpected
manufacturing problems with the dispensers it uses to store and dispense
reagents on the majority of its immunohistochemistry, or IHC, staining
instruments.
    The Company announced that preliminary analyses indicate it will take a
one-time charge relating to the dispensers of between $5 and $6 million.  In
addition, Ventana announced that it plans to take write-offs and reserves
totaling between $11 and $14 million as a result of its decision to exit its
non-strategic electron microscopy product line and restructure its
manufacturing operations.  These actions combined could result in the Company
reporting operating losses for the second quarter of between $16 and
$20 million.
    Christopher Gleeson, Ventana's President and Chief Executive Officer,
commented, "Our decision to exit the electron microscopy business and
restructure our manufacturing operations was made to enable us to focus all
our energies on our incredibly attractive opportunity in histology with IHC,
Special Stains and in-situ hybridization, and our opportunity in the drug
discovery market."

    Dispenser Problem Discovered, Resolved
    Dispensers are a core component used to store and dispense reagents on the
majority of Ventana's IHC staining instruments.  Gleeson noted, "We recently
became aware of the problem when we noticed a disruption in our customer base.
We received reports that some of our dispensers leaked during shipment to
customers or were reported to be short of tests.  We traced the problem to a
single part we procure from an outside supplier.  We immediately brought the
problem to our supplier's attention and together resolved the problem.  They
have corrected their manufacturing processes and we are again receiving
high-quality parts."
    Gleeson added, "Once we discovered the disruption, we immediately
implemented new quality control procedures in our manufacturing processes to
insulate customers from the problem.  We are confident that we are now
shipping high-quality dispensers to our customers and have done so since
implementing the new quality control procedures."
    In explaining the expected revenue shortfall for the second quarter,
Gleeson noted, "As the dispenser leaking problem became evident, our sales
forces around the world focused on our existing customer base to deal with the
dispenser problem, rather than on obtaining new customers.  We believe this
will negatively impact instrument revenues.  In addition, our new quality
control procedures have limited our ability to ship dispensers.  Hence, our
consumable revenues may also fall short of plan in the quarter.  Despite these
challenges, we still expect to report corporate growth in sales in the low
teens for the second quarter up from the $16.3 million reported in the second
quarter of 1999."
    In explaining the one-time write-offs associated with the dispenser
problem, Gleeson noted, "The inventory charge relates to a write-off of
leaking finished goods inventory and low manufacturing yields while we
identified and fixed the root cause of the problem.  The negative
manufacturing variances incurred during the quarter were caused by incremental
quality control costs and under absorption of overhead."

    Will Exit Low-Growth Microtome Business
    Ventana acquired its electron microscopy product line in late 1998 as a
result of acquiring all of the outstanding stock of BioTechnology Tools, Inc.
(BTI).  The products are used to prepare specimens for examination under an
electron microscope.
    Gleeson noted, "We acquired BTI to gain access to its tissue processor
product line, which has proven to be a great fit with our focus on the
histology lab.  A family of electron microscope sample preparation products
came with the acquisition, which are not strategically important to our
future.  They currently generate about $3 million in annual sales and operate
at a breakeven.  Further, the market for electron microscopy sample
preparation instruments is small, not growing, lacks a consumable annuity, and
involves a different customer base from that called on by our direct sales
forces.  Hence, we have made a decision to exit the business, preferably
through a sale.  We estimate the reserves required to cover the costs of
exiting the business will be between $5 and $6 million and will include a
significant write-off of the goodwill booked in acquiring BTI."

    New Staining System Ready for Launch
    In addition to exiting its electron microscopy product line, Ventana also
announced plans to restructure its manufacturing operations by closing its
production plant in Gaithersburg, Md., and writing down inventories and fixed
assets in anticipation of the launch of its new BenchMark staining system.
The Company plans to create up to an additional $6 to $8 million in reserves
to handle these restructuring activities.
    Gleeson commented, "We acquired the Gaithersburg production facility in
late 1998 with our acquisition of all the oncology assets of Oncor, Inc.  The
plant, which will be closed within 12 months, produces a small number of
reagent products, which could be more cost effectively produced in our Tucson
reagent manufacturing facilities and by outside contractors.  However, we do
plan to maintain our R&D presence in Gaithersburg, which is critical to our
ISH product line.  We have also taken a substantial reserve against our
existing inventories of IHC systems and parts due to the recent introduction
of our BenchMark Advanced Staining System.  The BenchMark was recently
launched at the Clinical Laboratory Managers Association's annual convention.
It is the most advanced staining system ever offered to histology labs.  In
addition to performing both IHC and ISH stains, the BenchMark also automates a
series of labor-intensive slide preparation activities including dewaxing and
cell conditioning.  Due to the revolutionary nature of this product, we
thought it prudent to write down the value of our inventory of parts and
systems for existing IHC stainers as well as field demonstration and
evaluation units."  Gleeson emphasized that the majority of the write-offs and
reserves are non-cash charges to earnings.
    Separately, Ventana announced that it will continue to purchase shares
under its stock repurchase program.  The program, which was announced in
September 1998, authorized the repurchase of up to 750,000 shares of the
Company's common stock in the open market from time to time.  The timing and
size of repurchases are subject to market conditions, stock prices and the
Company's cash position.  To date, 40,000 shares have been repurchased under
the program.  The Company intends to use the repurchased stock for
replenishment of shares issued pursuant to employee option and purchase plans.
    Safe Harbor Statement: Statements in this press release which are not
strictly historical are "forward-looking" statements that are made pursuant to
the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of
1995.  Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, which may
cause the company's actual results in the future to differ materially from the
expected results.  The risks and uncertainties that may affect the results of
the company's business may include general economic conditions, market
acceptance of new automated histology products, continued success in asset
management and other factors that are described in the company's specific
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
    Ventana develops, manufactures and markets instrument/reagent systems that
automate tissue preparation and slide staining in histology laboratories
worldwide.  Ventana's systems are important tools used in the diagnosis and
treatment of cancer and infectious diseases.
    For more information on Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. via facsimile at no
additional cost, simply dial 1-800-PRO-INFO and enter the stock symbol "VMSI".

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