ORO VALLEY, AZ (January 18, 2024) -- Roche Tissue Diagnostics, employing more than 1,800 people in Oro Valley, has purchased the former Sanofi / Icagen research and development facility adjacent to the Roche campus in Innovation Park, the Oro Valley Chamber announced today.
Built by Sanofi-aventis, and most recently operated by Icagen, the 112,500-square-foot building sits on 11.5 acres at 2090 E. Innovation Park Drive, the southeast corner of Rancho Vistoso and Innovation Park Drive. It was most recently operated as a pharmaceutical research and development facility.
“We’ve expanded our commitment in Oro Valley with this purchase, which will support the growth of the Pathology business” said Jill German, at left, Head of Roche Tissue Diagnostics.
The acquisition was finalized in mid-December.
While RTD won’t be immediately adding jobs, it does plan to locate teams working to bring high-value medical solutions to patients by identifying personalized health care solutions.
“Colleagues in this new space will focus on improving patient care through the development of assays (tests) that determine which patients are most likely to benefit from specific therapies,” German said. “These linkages will allow for the most accurate diagnosis to be paired with the most targeted and relevant therapy for patients.”
Roche does not plan to occupy the space until the fourth quarter of 2024. Before then, the company is determining any interior changes necessary to make it more sustainable and fit to purpose.
Sanofi-aventis, the international pharmaceutical company, built the Oro Valley facility as its Tucson Research Center. It opened in October 2009.
In its original configuration, the Tucson Research Center included chemistry and biology labs, instrument rooms, chemical storage, biology automation, analytics space, offices and central gathering areas. It also housed Sanofi’s significant compound collection, used by researchers as they explored new pharmaceutical possibilities.
Chamber Platinum member Roche Tissue Diagnostics is Oro Valley's largest employer. The site is an innovator of tissue-based diagnostic solutions for patients worldwide, and provides the anatomic pathology lab with a powerful combination of instrumentation, medical value assays and a digitally integrated laboratory workflow, making Roche the leading global supplier of cancer diagnostic systems to the pathology market.