Waters Corp. obtains rights to mass spectrometry imaging invented at Purdue along with acquisition of Prosolia’s DESI technology

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Waters Corp. (NYSE: WAT), Prosolia Inc. and the Purdue Research Foundation announced Monday (July 23) that Waters acquired exclusive rights to Desorption Electrospray Ionization (DESI) technology for all mass spectrometry applications from Prosolia and PRF.

"The acquisition of DESI technology bolsters Waters' portfolio of mass spectrometry imaging innovations, a rapidly expanding MS technique for biomedical research and related applications," said Chris O'Connell, chairman and chief executive officer of Waters Corp. "DESI mass spectrometry imaging provides complementary and actionable data when compared to classical histopathology imaging technologies with major advantages in analyzing the molecular fingerprint within a sample, thus delivering deeper biological insights. Ultimately, these insights will lead to better understanding of disease and enable the development of new, more effective medical therapies."

DESI imaging technology uses a charged jet of solvent depositing micro-droplets onto a sample's surface where analytes are desorbed into a gas phase at ambient pressure and temperature. Subsequently, they are drawn in and analyzed by mass spectrometry.

"We at Prosolia are proud of our role in developing and commercializing DESI technology," said Justin Wiseman, chief executive officer at Prosolia. "The potential for MSI analysis using DESI technology is significant because of the quality of the data, the minimal sample preparation required and the non-destructive nature of the technique allowing for multimodal analysis on a single sample."

In connection with Waters’ acquisition of DESI intellectual property from Prosolia and licensing from PRF, Waters and Purdue University, where DESI was invented by a team led by R. Graham Cooks, the Henry Bohn Hass Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, have also established a relationship under the terms of a new license agreement. Accordingly, Waters will provide Purdue University with a Synapt G2-Si time-of-flight mass spectrometer to continue to advance research applications of DESI technology.

"Today's announcement is an important milestone in the continued growth of DESI to the benefit of scientists around the globe. We congratulate Justin and the Prosolia team for their accomplishments and look forward to collaborating with Waters as it takes DESI into the future,"  Cooks said.

Waters will continue to support its customers who are already realizing the benefits of DESI technology with their Xevo and Synapt time-of-flight mass spectrometers. As the technology transitions from Prosolia to Waters, Prosolia also will continue to supply DESI technology for certain non-Waters mass spectrometer configurations until Sept. 30, 2019. Prosolia will be responsible for and will continue to honor its warranty commitments made prior to Waters’ acquisition of the DESI technology to those scientists and organizations who currently have a DESI source unit on any non-Waters mass spectrometer. More details can be found at Prosolia's website - https://prosolia.com/.

About Waters

Waters Corp. (NYSE: WAT), the world's leading specialty measurement company, has pioneered chromatography, mass spectrometry and thermal analysis innovations serving the life, materials and food sciences for nearly 60 years. With approximately 7,000 employees worldwide, Waters operates directly in 27 countries, including 11 manufacturing facilities, and with products available in more than 100 countries.

Waters is a registered trademark of the Waters Corp.

About Prosolia

Prosolia Inc. is a privately-held scientific instruments company engaged in the development and marketing of analytical tools that enhance and expand the use of mass spectrometers. Our portfolio of scientific tools includes innovative sample introduction and surface analysis systems with intuitive software, and all of which are part of workflows that reduce complexity and deliver faster time-to-results. Guided by the vision of democratizing the mass spectrometer, Prosolia is making the power of its measurements more accessible to scientists, clinicians and technicians. Our Desorption Electrospray Ionization (DESI) technology paved the way to achieving this vision with its invention in 2004 by a team led by R. Graham Cooks, the Henry Bohn Hass Distinguished Professor of Chemistry at Purdue, and included  Zoltan Takats, a scientific founder, and Justin Wiseman, Prosolia’s chairman, president and CEO.

About Purdue Research Foundation

The Purdue Research Foundation is a private, nonprofit foundation created to advance the mission of Purdue University. Established in 1930, the foundation accepts gifts; administers trusts; funds scholarships and grants; acquires property; protects Purdue's intellectual property; and promotes entrepreneurial activities on behalf of Purdue. The foundation manages the Purdue Foundry, Purdue Office of Technology Commercialization, Purdue Research Park and Purdue Technology Centers. The foundation received the 2016 Innovation and Economic Prosperity Universities Award for Innovation from the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. For more information about funding and investment opportunities in startups based on a Purdue innovation, contact the Purdue Foundry at foundry@prf.org.

Purdue Research Foundation contact: Tom Coyne, 765-588-1044, tjcoyne@prf.org

Waters Corp.: Jeff Tarmy, 508-482-2268

Prosolia: Justin Wiseman, wiseman@prosolia.com