HAMILTON, Bermuda (CMC):

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

Brown, a physician who is president of Bermuda Healthcare Services, told a news conference last week that the announcement was one of the most exciting developments in health care on the island in recent times.

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

Stem-cell technology

The company stressed it would use adult stem-cell technology, and would 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 a property which is owned by Brown and is currently being refurbished.

It will initially be staffed by at least three Bermuda Healthcare physicians and two Stemedica physicians.

To begin with, it will focus solely on research, but eventually hopes to be able to treat one or two stem-cell patients a week.

Dr. Maynard Howe, CEO of California-based Stemedica, said Bermuda was chosen because of its proximity to the United States and its surroundings, which would provide an ideal environment for patients to recover.