It is with tremendous pride and joy that I announce the signing of two significant Agreements namely the Memorandum of Understanding between the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine and the University of Miami Leonard M. Miller School of Medicine Inter-disciplinary Stem Cell Institute; the Ministry of Health and the Public Hospitals Authority (MOU); and the Consultancy Services Agreement between Dr. Joshua M. Hare, Consultant; and the Ministry of Health marking the culmination of discussion which began immediately following my government assuming office in May, 2012.

This is indeed a sentinel moment for my government because the University of Miami Leonard Miller School of Medicine is one of the leading Schools of Medicine in the United States of America and this now makes this outstanding institution available to us as we continue this sacred journey to ensure patient safety and enhance the quality and delivery of healthcare to our citizens throughout The Bahamas, to drive innovation in healthcare and to create new opportunities for Bahamians in the fields of Biotechnology, Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine.

Indeed this sentinel moment also comes at a pivotal time in the history of The Bahamas as we implement National Health Insurance thereby providing our citizens with accessible, equitable, and high quality healthcare; one of our most significant social objectives of my government.

Ladies and gentlemen, this MOU provides that the University of Miami will engage in education, training physicians, health care practitioners and scientists in finding new treatments and therapies for heart disease, neurological disease, bone disease, diabetes, cancer, eye diseases and other chronic, debilitating or incurable diseases.

The University of Miami through this MOU will explore the possibility of providing services including establishing relationship between healthcare providers, nationally and internationally; developing telemedicine facilities to assist in diagnosis and treatment of patients; facilitate specialty training for physicians and medical practitioners in areas other than stem cell research and therapy upon request from the Ministry of Health/Public Hospitals Authority and in collaboration with the University of the West Indies School of Clinical Medicine and Research specific identifiable needs.

This MOU further provides that the University of Miami, through the interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute will explore the possibility of providing services and support such as the establishment of a Stem Cell Laboratory “free standing” or in collaboration with an existing laboratory within The Bahamas; provision of resources and expertise as necessary to advance from The Bahamas stem cell research, stem cell therapy and stem cell product development; advancement of The Bahamas as a center of excellence for stem cell research and a center for innovation in biotechnological advances, as well as providing expertise as a member of the National Stem Cell Ethics Committee the Scientific Sub-committee and the Monitoring Compliance Stem Cell sub-committee; providing the framework in accordance with international best practices to train and develop Bahamian scientists particularly in the area of stem cell research and therapy and regenerative medicine.

Ladies and gentlemen, I now turn to the Consultancy Services Agreement between Dr. Joshua M. Hare, M.D., Consultant; and the Ministry of Health. Today is a very special day in the positive development of the Stem Cell Industry here in The Bahamas. In January 2015, my government through the Ministry of Health under the leadership of the Hon. M. Perry Gomez, Minister of Health has established the legal ground work and organisational structures to support the development of a new industry, the Stem Cell industry and related biotechnology industries which was indeed a significant milestone for developing countries in this hemisphere and an even more significant accomplishment for a relatively small archipelagic country such as ours.

The regulatory framework for the conduct of Stem Cell Research was established thus giving The Bahamas the distinction of becoming the first Country in the English Speaking Caribbean Region to put such a legislative framework in place. The signing of this Consultancy Services Agreement (CSA) between Dr. Joshua M. Hare, Consultant; and the Ministry of Health, marks the furtherance of our partnership and the consummation of work that has already started.

Ladies and gentlemen, the Stem Cell Industry is at the cutting edge of modern medical practice, personalised health and precision medicine it requires particular specialized expertise to assess, monitor, evaluate and validate the scientific practices conducted in this emerging field of medicine. Dr. Joshua M. Hare, M.D., is a world renown leading Stem Cell Scientist who is recognized internationally for his research in the area of Stem Cells production; and thus his services are being retained to advise and support initiatives fostering developments in this area and to validate the establishment and the development of the Stem Cell industry in the Commonwealth of The Bahamas. Professor Hare has served as a member and Co- Chair of the Scientific Committee of the National Stem Cell Ethics Committee (NSCEC) and has played an active role in ethics reviews and decisions regarding ethics approvals of all applications for stem cell therapy and research since the Committee's first meeting in January 2015.

This agreement solidifies that arrangement.

The engagement would include his personal expertise, as well as, the services of the Stem Cell Interdisciplinary Laboratory of the University of Miami. In accordance with this CSA, the Consultant shall:

 serves as the Co-Chairman of the National Stem Cell Ethics Scientific Sub- Committee. The Sub-Committee terms of reference includes the conduct of review of all stem cell applications to ensure that they satisfy the ethical scientific process benchmarked to international standards;

 as required, tests the actual stem cell products being utilized in the research and therapy to confirm that the cells are authentic for the indicated purpose;

 oversee the scientific collection (retrieval), preparation, storage and utilization of autologous and mesenchymal stem cells are conducted in accordance with industry standards e.g. FDA Standards. Particular attention with oversight being given in the cases of the utilization of Mesenchymal Stem Cell heterogeneous therapy; and

 for the validation of new therapies utilizing stem cells prior to the National Stem Cell Ethic Committee (NSCEC) giving its stamp of approval as an alternative form of therapy in the international global medicine community; and

 any other matter that is agreed, related to the quality assurance in the Stem Cell Industry.

Ladies and gentlemen,

During the past 15 months, several scientific projects have been provisionally approved by the government with both scientific, educational, research and economic benefits for The Bahamas and it is anticipated that other major projects would be approved per annum over the next five years.

Further, with the business success of the Stem Cell Projects at the Okyanos Heart Institute in Freeport, Grand Bahama, it is envisaged that the pillars of the Cell therapy and biotechnology industries will be further strengthened. Undoubtedly, The Bahamas is set on a journey to achieve the goals that have been articulated for those we have joined, and plan to embrace the opportunities of this new emerging science arena in the Stem Cell Industry.

Ladies and gentlemen, it is becoming increasingly clear to those in the field of science, (especially the new modalities in therapy in the healthcare industry), that genomics, bioinformatics and other related fields in the area of personalised medicine are the way of the future. With the use of Stem Cells and Cell therapy and Research as the foundation for treatment and therapy, it will pave the way in directing the inter-disciplinary approach to finding cures in areas of cancer therapy which have eluded scientists for many years.

I am pleased to state that the Stem Cell Secretariat under the leadership of Dr. Glen Beneby, Chief Medical Officer and Chairman of the National Stem Cell Committee and by Professor Desiree Cox who serves on the Stem Cell Secretariat and NSCEC and Chairs the Advancing Standards for the Stem Cell and Biotechnology initiative including the establishment of a Public Registry of all ethically approved cell therapy projects the Secretariat is focused on steering the development our emerging Stem Cell Industry to become world leaders in innovations in Cell Therapy, Regenerative Medicine and Biotechnology internationally.

The execution of this MOU and CSA on this 14th Day of March, 2016, deserves to be heralded throughout the Region, for the benefits it brings to the parties especially the Bahamian people and my government.

Once again, I express our gratitude to ALL those who made today’s sterling event possible through the achievement of these significant milestones in the history of The Bahamas.