Friends, good afternoon.
Thank you for being here to commemorate the grand opening of Quantum Longevity AI.
Thank you to the hosts and the team who pulled this together, and thank you to everyone who has presented tonight and who will be guiding the tours over the next two days.
I am pleased to join you because this gathering speaks to a real moment for The Bahamas and the world.
Across the globe, people are thinking about health in a new way. They still want care when something goes wrong, yet more and more they are asking a different question: how do I stay well longer, keep my energy steady, protect my mind, and hold on to strength and mobility as the years pass.
Science is moving quickly too.
Genomic testing, precision diagnostics, data-led prevention, regenerative medicine, and a wave of tools that promise better outcomes and better quality of life.
People can see it, read it, and buy into it from their phones.
With that speed comes risk. Hype travels fast. Bad actors travel fast. Patients can get hurt when there are no clear rules.
So leadership in this space means two things at the same time: welcoming innovation, and setting standards that people can trust.
That is the larger vision behind the Longevity and Regenerative Therapies Act, 2024, commonly called LARTA.
LARTA provides a national framework for the approval and regulation of longevity and regenerative therapies and related matters.
It defines this field broadly, including gene therapies, stem cell therapies, regenerative therapies, functional medicine, and gerontology, among others.
It also establishes oversight through a National Longevity and Regenerative Therapy Board and a National Longevity and Regenerative Therapy Ethics Review Committee.
That structure matters because trust is the currency here.
People are placing their health, their hopes, and their resources in someone else’s hands. They deserve safety, ethics, and accountability as a starting point, every time.
Now let me connect that global moment to a hard truth at home.
The Bahamas carries a heavy burden of overweight and obesity. Our 2019 STEPS survey reports 71.6% of adults living with overweight, and 43.6% living with obesity.
PAHO’s Health in the Americas country profile also reflects the scale of the challenge we face.
This affects health outcomes, productivity, family budgets, and is a challenge to our health system.
And it shows up in the conditions too many families are managing every day: diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, stroke, and other noncommunicable diseases.
The WHO Noncommunicable Diseases Progress Monitor reports that noncommunicable diseases account for a large share of deaths in The Bahamas.
So when we talk about longevity, we are talking about national wellbeing. We are talking about helping people keep years, keep quality, and keep independence.
This is why the work you are launching here fits a larger national direction.
From what I have seen and been briefed on, this model brings together key pieces of modern care under one roof.
Advanced diagnostics, personalised planning, prevention-focused functional medicine, restoration therapies, and services that support recovery, confidence, and day-to-day wellbeing.
People rarely experience health in separate boxes. They come in with fatigue, sleep issues, weight changes, stress, gut concerns, hormonal shifts, and the simple desire to feel like themselves again.
Care that connects the testing, the plan, and the follow-through can change the experience for patients.
That is why an integrated approach matters.
It is also why law and standards matter.
LARTA is designed to ensure that when therapies are researched, approved, offered, promoted, and delivered, the rules are clear and the safeguards are real. It replaced earlier stem cell legislation to match the pace of medical advancement and the wider scope of today’s therapies.
I also want to recognize the people whose work helped set the stage for this era of medicine in The Bahamas, and the Bahamian excellence that continues to show up in rooms like this.
Many of you have spoken of Dr. Norman Gay, Dr. John Lunn, and Dr. Desiree Cox, and of the example they set. That legacy matters because it reminds us that high standards have always been part of our story.
Now, there is a second piece to this vision, and it is economic.
Health and wellness travel is changing.
People are staying longer. They are building their schedules around care, recovery, and prevention. They look for destinations that feel safe, discreet, professional, and well-regulated.
If we build this sector the right way, patients will come for care, and they will also support the wider Bahamian economy.
Hotels, restaurants, transportation, local experiences, and services across New Providence and the Family Islands.
This is part of the opportunity the Government spoke to when advancing this legislation.
And we want Bahamians in this industry. Trained, hired, promoted, and positioned to lead.
That includes clinicians, nurses, lab technicians, patient coordinators, wellness professionals, researchers, administrators, and young Bahamians deciding that this is a field worth entering.
The government’s role is clear.
We will keep standards high. We will protect patients. We will support credible innovation with oversight that earns confidence. And we will keep public health front and center, because longevity also depends on prevention, early screening, healthier food choices, movement, sleep, and mental wellbeing across our whole population.
So tonight, I congratulate Alan Quasha, Barbara Ann Bernard, Dr. Danny Johnson, and the entire team behind this clinic and this model of care.
And also, Barbara, congratulations on your appointment as Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for your services in banking and finance.
Thank you for choosing The Bahamas.
Thank you for building something that matches ambition with rules people can trust.
Friends, this is what the future can look like. This is what possibility can look like, right here in The Bahamas.
I wish you a strong event this evening, meaningful conversations at the reception, and a good experience on the tours over the next two days.
Live longer. Live better.
Thank you.