On the same day, Mr Gary Harland, director, mass spectrometry product management, Waters Corporation, hosted a LIVE product webinar from the US for Indian journalists.

In his presentation, Mr Harland said, "The QDa Detector essentially is a chromatographic detector, which delivers mass spectral information as a synergistic element of a chromatographic separation system. Designed, to be used as a detector for a chromatographic system, to be robust, reliable, and have no sample specific adjustments which will traditionally be associated with using mass spectrometry technology."

Talking about the product features, Mr Harland expressed, "It has been designed to give chromatographers or analytical scientists much more information to completely characterize their sample without introducing the complexity of a mass spectrometer type product."

He further added, "It has been designed to give the users information that can help make decisions, meet deadlines, improve productivity or the way laboratory processes are run."

The company's press release also carried the following quote of Mr Art Caputo, president, Waters Division, which stated, "The ACQUITY QDa Detector is the realization of a vision that started 20 years ago at Waters. We foresaw a day when we could blend chromatography and mass spectrometry technologies together in a way that gives every analytical scientist access to mass spectral data regardless of their previous experience with mass spectrometry. The ACQUITY QDa Detector adds a whole new dimension to separation science and it is the most progressive leap forward in chromatography detection since the first photodiode detectors were introduced decades ago."

The ACQUITY QDa Detector is expected to transform laboratory processes like pharmaceutical discovery & development, chemical materials and food laboratories engaged in method development, sample profiling, synthetic chemistry and purification.

In a series of questions imposed by BioSpectrum India during the webinar's Q&A session, Mr Harland responded with the following answers:

Is the QDa available in India?
Mr Gary Harland: Yes, it is. It is available already, and we have the instrument being shipped to our Indian customers.

How is the QDa priced?
For this product to be truly accessible, it should be affordable as well.

Who are your clients for this product?
Many of our early customers are collaborating with us. At this moment I can't disclose who has placed orders.

Will there be an official launch of QDa in India?
It is definitely available for sale in India as of today. But I need to confirm it with my colleagues at Waters India.

Can this product be used in the academia?
Yes, we have seen a lot of interest from the academia. Whether it is for research or in chemistry departments, chemists need to test the samples. We've customers talking to us who are teaching undergradute courses to use it for academic purposes.

How do you intend to handle the competition from products that compete with QDa?
Good question. We have brought up something unique and new in today's market. There are many mass spectrometry products that are reasonable. Today, we have something which is certainly a big leap forward and we do not see a competitor for this product in the marketplace. Soon, our competitors will work faster and try to understand what we have done.

How long did it take to design the QDa Detector?
It took us about 2.5 years for us to understand the underlying technology and a lot of work has gone into it.

Is this completely a Waters' innovation product?
Yes, this is a Waters innovation.