Waters acquires MOBILion Systems
Waters Corporation announced that it has acquired MOBILion Systems, Inc., the pioneer of SLIM high-resolution ion mobility separation technology for complex molecular analysis. The acquisition broadens Waters' entry into the proteomics market, pairing SLIM's separation power with Waters' Xevo™ MRT MS speed and resolution enabling superior bottom-up analysis of complex proteomes versus LC-MS alone.
"Today's acquisition gives Waters a unique advantage in proteomics that will define our leadership, first in research and, over time, in the clinic. MOBILion's team brings deep expertise in developing and advancing this technology," said Dr. Udit Batra, President and Chief Executive Officer, Waters Corporation. "Pairing SLIM ion mobility separation with the speed, resolution and sensitivity capabilities of our mass spectrometry portfolio will help scientists better understand complex biology and transform data into actionable insights. It will also enable data generation at the scale AI foundation and frontier models need, opening the door to revolutionizing proteomics with lab-in-the-loop workflows."
Strategic Benefits of the Acquisition
This acquisition accelerates Waters' strategy to enter and drive innovation in the attractive proteomics market, where LCMS proteomics is a $2 billion Total Addressable Market (TAM), growing at a high single-digit rate.1 It creates several benefits:
- Greater proteome depth through enhanced separation: MOBILion's SLIM (Structures for Lossless Ion Manipulations) technology provides high-resolution ion mobility separation, resolving molecular differences that are difficult to distinguish by liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry alone. Combined with Waters' mass spectroscopy portfolio, SLIM technology is expected to increase proteome coverage, sensitivity and throughput for complex biological samples. Waters' high-end proteomics instruments will drive insights enabling downstream translational studies.
High-throughput proteomics for AI-enabled research: SLIM enabled technology will drive insights supporting large cohort studies and high-throughput generation of high-quality data required by foundation and frontier AI models. Through Waters AI Link, which brings Anthropic's Model Context Protocol (MCP) to waters_connect™ Software, and Waters' participation in Anthropic's Model Hardware Standard (MHS) research program, these capabilities support lab-in-the-loop experimentation, in which AI agents help design experiments and autonomously direct instrument operation. The acquisition also brings MOBILion's team and deep ion mobility expertise to Waters. - Future translation of discoveries into targeted assays: Using the Xevo TQ Absolute XR tandem quadrupole Mass Spectrometer, which offers industry-leading sensitivity and robustness, the acquisition creates a path from biomarker discovery to targeted biomarker verification and validation in clinical trial cohorts on a single platform as workflows in the waters_connect Platform support method transfer from discovery into development.
- Longer-term opportunity in blood-based diagnostics: Waters' installed base of mass spectrometers in clinical laboratories provides a foundation for translating validated protein biomarkers into routine, blood-based tests. Over time, this creates test menu expansion opportunity for multiplex diagnostic workflows, serving applications such as Multi-Cancer Early Detection (MCED) and Minimal Residual Disease (MRD) monitoring.
"SLIM was built to see what other separations miss," said Dr. Melissa Sherman, Chief Executive Officer, MOBILion Systems. "Waters is the ideal home for this technology given its rich history of leadership in separation science and mass spectrometry. By bringing our high-resolution ion mobility technology together with Waters' complementary differentiated multi reflecting time of flight technology, we can extend the impact of SLIM and help scientists reveal more meaningful discoveries in proteomics, enabling it to progress from leading research labs into routine testing worldwide."
Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
1 Based on Waters internal analysis and estimates, incorporating consulting data, industry reports and market research.
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Topic World Mass Spectrometry
Mass spectrometry enables us to detect and identify molecules and reveal their structure. Whether in chemistry, biochemistry or forensics - mass spectrometry opens up unexpected insights into the composition of our world. Immerse yourself in the fascinating world of mass spectrometry!
Topic World Mass Spectrometry
Mass spectrometry enables us to detect and identify molecules and reveal their structure. Whether in chemistry, biochemistry or forensics - mass spectrometry opens up unexpected insights into the composition of our world. Immerse yourself in the fascinating world of mass spectrometry!
