Phillips-Medisize, a Molex company, has announced an initial investment to expand the capabilities of its 380,000 sq ft Molex Little Rock facility to include an FDA registered manufacturing Center of Excellence for Connected Health and Drug-Delivery Devices.

The construction of purpose-built cleanroom suites, as well as FDA registration and ISO 13485 certification, are scheduled to be complete for its first customer’s production beginning in Q2 2018. This facility establishes a new manufacturing site in Little Rock, AR, for Phillips-Medisize’s medical business with capabilities for filling, drug handling, electronics and connected devices. This investment aims to combine the innovative solutions and knowledge of Molex’s existing electronics production operations with Phillips-Medisize’s proven platform of drug-delivery and medical device expertise.

“Phillips-Medisize is excited to align with Molex on the transformation of the Little Rock facility, which will be a center of excellence for connected health and drug-delivery devices and manufacture products that fit in today’s world of innovative devices. This facility will also allow us to accommodate large programs requiring extensive assembly and molding operations, in cleanroom and other controlled environments, within a compressed timeframe. The facility will have a particular focus on mid- to high-volume diagnostics, medical device, and drug-delivery systems that integrate electronics and digital applications, and will provide us with the additional space needed to reach our growth objectives over the upcoming years,” says Matt Jennings, CEO and President of Phillips-Medisize.

This will be the company’s sixth expansion in the past six years to support long-term growth of its medical contract manufacturing business. In June 2017, the company completed a new 80,000 sq ft facility in Menomonie, WI. Earlier in 2016, Phillips-Medisize opened a 17,000 sq ft dedicated clinical and pilot build facility for drug-delivery and combination devices in Menomonie, WI. In November 2015, the company doubled the size of the New Richmond, WI, medical device facility, and in late 2014, expanded its Finland facility.