"HPLC systems are approximately growing at 20 percent every year,"

-KV Venugopalan, president, Waters India

How is fast LC, more so, your UPLC doing in the market?

UPLC was introduced in 2004 and has been doing extremely well. Scientists say that such breakthroughs in technology come only once in 30 years. UPLC takes the performance of chromatography to a level that otherwise was not possible in the past. It is nine times faster, three times more sensitive and gives 70 percent more resolution. Our UPLC business is growing at the rate of 70-80 percent every year and in India alone we have sold more than 200 UPLC systems.

Has the introduction of UPLC in any way giving a competition to the HPLCs?

Considering the performance and productivity improvement with substantial lower cost of analysis compared to HPLC, we believe that in future scientists will only use UPLC.

What is the cost difference between a HPLC and an UPLC?

The cost of UPLC varies based on the configuration and requirements. The cost of UPLC is almost double than that of a HPLC. But it does the work of three or four HPLCs. So it is still cheaper to use a UPLC.

How big is the HPLC market here?

I believe that in 2007, roughly 3,000 HPLC systems have been sold in the country and the market is growing at approximately 20 percent every year. In terms of units, we have about one third of the market but in terms of revenue, it is slightly higher.

How are your other products performing?

All our products are successful and have been very well accepted in the market. Alliance and the basic HPLC system continue to be the largest selling products in the country. We sell more than 700 Alliance systems every year.