Premier Ewart Brown will supervise Bermuda's first stem cell clinic after stepping down as Premier.

Dr. Brown yesterday said the Ministry of Health is putting guidelines together before the project gets underway at the Brown-Darrell Clinic in Winterhaven, Smith's.

The Premier and his wife Wanda are teaming up with California-based Stemedica for the initiative, but its opening was delayed after Bermuda's lack of stem cell regulations came in for heavy criticism from doctors.

Speaking at his final Brown Bag Lunch at Camden yesterday, Dr. Brown told residents: "The clinic is still operating; the research side is coming.

"There's not a lot of legislative changes, there's some guidelines that the Ministry of Health is putting in place. I'm going to take a supervisory role with both clinics [Brown-Darrell and Bermuda HealthCare Services in Paget].

"We are fortunate to have some excellent doctors. I will just sort of keep my eye on things."

Stemedica says its technologies can treat a wide array of medical conditions including stroke, Alzheimer's and Parkinson's.

However, local doctors say using stem cells as treatment for neurodegenerative disorders is experimental and cannot be performed in many jurisdictions such as the United States, Canada and western Europe.

Last summer, 30 physicians signed a letter to late Health Minister Nelson Bascome opposing plans for stem cell treatment for neurodegenerative disorders.

The doctors said treating disorders such as Alzheimer's with stem cells could raise serious safety and ethical questions and damage Bermuda's international reputation and credibility.

They added that stem cell research should be governed by strict regulations adhering to guidelines laid out by the International Society for Stem Cell Research.