In a recently-inked partnership, the Singapore Immunology Network (SIgN) will use Swiss biotech firm Cytos' technology to speed up its search for potential drugs for the disease. The network under the Agency for Science, Technology and Research is targeting enterovirus 71, one of the two most common viruses which cause the disease.

Scientific director of SIgN, Professor Paola Castagnoli, said the grouping decided to work with Cytos because Cytos technology could identify potential antibodies much faster than conventional methods.

Promising antibodies can then be developed into drugs for the disease.

There is currently no treatment or vaccine for the disease.

The partnership would 'catalyse the translation of basic scientific knowledge into useful clinical applications,' said Professor Philippe Kourilsky, Chairman of SIgN.

In 2000, HFMD caused more than 70 deaths in children, including seven in Singapore. Last year, the number of reported cases of HFMD reached an all-time high of over 9,000, resulting in the closure of many preschools and childcare centres.