A stem cell research centre is to open in Bermuda later this year after Premier Ewart Brown and his wife Wanda teamed up with American company Stemedica Cell Technologies.

Dr. Brown — the president of Bermuda Healthcare Services — told a press conference yesterday that the announcement was one of the most exciting developments in healthcare on the Island in recent times.

It could ultimately lead to scores of patients a year flying to Bermuda to receive revolutionary treatment for illnesses such as Alzheimer's, Parkinson's and spinal cord injuries.

The company stresses it will only use adult stem cells technology, and its work will not involve the destruction of embryos which has attracted opposition from church groups across the world.

The clinic, named Brown-Darrell after the Premier's parents, will be on the site of the former Winterhaven property in Smith's, which is owned by Dr. Brown and is currently undergoing refurbishment.

It will initially be staffed by at least three Bermuda Healthcare physicians and two Stemedica physicians. Eventually the group hopes to be able to treat one or two stem cell patients a week.

The centre is scheduled to open in the late fall of this year, when staff will begin screening patients who have exhausted traditional medical treatments with little or no success.

Dr. Maynard Howe, CEO of Stemedica, said Bermuda was chosen because of its location near the US and its surroundings which would provide an ideal environment for patients to recover.

The Island also has physicians with expertise in dealing with conditions including head trauma and quadriplegia.

"We are thrilled to have made the connection and are looking forward to a very successful partnership," said Dr. Howe.

Mrs. Brown, the consulting CEO of the new clinic, said: "I understand that medical breakthroughs require research, and that ultimately medical breakthroughs save lives.

"It is our every hope and intention that what we do at Brown-Darrell will help to lay the groundwork for the treatment of patients around the world who, without stem cell treatment, have no hope for a normal life.

"We believe that we will significantly improve the quality of life of those patients we treat, and that we will contribute to the research being conducted in this field that will someday make stem cell treatment available to all who need it."

Mrs. Brown said she hoped eventually insurance companies would pay for patients' treatment so everyone who needed it could benefit.

Dr. Brown said: "This is probably one of the most exciting announcements in healthcare in the private sector in Bermuda in quite some time."

Stemedica's headquarters are in San Diego, California, with research operations in other parts of the US, Mexico, France, Italy, Switzerland, Korea and Russia.

Dr. Howe and his brother David Howe founded the company after watching stem cell treatment aid their sister-in-law to a remarkable recovery from horrific injuries sustained in a car accident. She has undergone treatment in Moscow, Russia, where the technology has not been held back by the kind of opposition experienced in the US. The brothers have been in talks with the Browns over the project for about 18 months.

Bishop of Bermuda Ewen Ratteray and Roman Catholic Bishop Robert Kurtz have both previously welcomed the move as long as Stemedica steers clear of embryonic stem cells.

Premier to open stem cell research centre