By Liaw Wy Cin

LOCAL scientists are forging ahead with a treatment for the dreaded hand, foot, mouth and disease (HFMD).

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.

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