Key Points:
- Waters introduced the Xevo TQ Absolute XR Mass Spectrometer and showcased its new protein A affinity chromatography columns, aimed at improving throughput and efficiency in pharmaceutical and environmental laboratories at ASMS.
- Vendors are responding to growing demand in biopharmaceutical and PFAS analysis by developing technologies that address the complexity of next-generation drugs and evolving regulatory requirements.
- With users expecting more intuitive digital tools, Waters is advancing software like waters_connect to simplify data review, improve automation, and ensure smoother integration across laboratory workflows.
At the 73rd American Society for Mass Spectrometry (ASMS) Conference on MS and Allied Topics in Baltimore, Maryland, Waters Corporation announced several product portfolio updates aimed at supporting advancements in key application areas, including per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) detection and biopharmaceutical analysis, among others.
Water’s major announcement focused on the launch of the Xevo TQ Absolute XR Mass Spectrometer, a benchtop tandem quadrupole instrument for high-throughput laboratories in sectors such as pharmaceuticals and environmental analysis. The system touts improved sensitivity and durability for trace-level detection in complex matrices.
The company also showcased other new product releases, including its first protein A affinity chromatography columns, which are designed for in titer measurements for biologic drug development. The new columns support earlier data generation in upstream bioprocessing and faster method optimization in downstream workflows. The goal is to improve efficiency across the discovery, development, and manufacturing stages. In addition to the product releases, the company also announced the acquisition Halo Labs, a company focused on specialized imaging technologies to detect, identify, and count interfering materials (particles) in therapeutic products, such as cell, protein, and gene therapies.
Many analytical vendors—including Waters—are doubling down on markets such as biopharmaceutical and PFAS analysis, both of which are experiencing rapid growth in research and development.
“In biopharmaceutical analysis, companies are encountering new challenges as they work to develop next-generation drugs that are significantly more complex than those of the past,” said Guillaume Bechade, senior manager of Biologics Marketing, at Waters.
“These are components that we cannot analyze with traditional methods, so having this new category of instrumentation will be really enabling our customers to better characterize,” Bechade said. “There is no one solution to all of this. We are trying really to develop fit for purpose solution for the category of drugs that our customers are working with.”
As biopharmaceutical companies advance into the realms of personalized medicine and increasingly complex molecules, vendors are stepping up with more sensitive and sophisticated technologies to meet evolving demands. Biopharma companies often process thousands of samples, with teams of analysts who may have varying levels of expertise in chemistry. As a result, there is a growing need for smarter, more automated systems that minimize human intervention and ensure consistent, reliable performance.
“The need in early development is not the same as in QC,” Bechade added, noting that Waters offers a range of technologies designed to communicate across every stage of the biopharma development process.
Aligning Hardware and Software for Functional Efficiency
Another key theme for Waters—and for many analytical vendors at ASMS this year—was the push toward more advanced software systems designed to complement mass spectrometry platforms and other laboratory technologies.
Smarter tools can generate large volumes of data more quickly, and many vendors—including Waters—have been rolling out updated software solutions alongside their instruments. The company provides the waters_connect quantitative analysis software, which supports more efficient data review and helps speed up the processing of large sample batches in mass spectrometry workflows.
As these technologies evolve, there is growing demand—particularly from pharmaceutical companies—for integrated systems that can communicate across all stages of development. In addition to improving efficiency, such tools must also incorporate robust compliance features to meet regulatory reporting requirements.
Laboratory information management tools in 2025 have evolved significantly from the cumbersome systems of decades past. This shift is driven in large part by more tech-savvy customers who expect tools that are intuitive, responsive, and integrated into their workflows.
Customers are increasingly prioritizing ease of use, especially in today’s digital landscape. As users grow accustomed to the simplicity and functionality of consumer technology, they bring those same expectations to professional and scientific environments. According to Nathaniel Martin, principal product owner at Waters, this demand is shaping the development of laboratory software, pushing vendors to design systems that are not only powerful but also user-friendly and accessible.
“Increasingly, we're seeing a software that's more familiar to people who browse the internet. A lot of our customers are asking for that sort of usability,” Martin said. By minimizing the time and effort required to navigate complex software systems, researchers can focus more of their energy on analysis, experimentation, and discovery.
“If we can get people reviewing the data more quickly, they can go off and do other cool science,” Martin said.
