SINGAPORE — A Singapore government-backed biotechnology firm says it is on track to developing an acupuncture pill, claiming to have put the traditional Asian method of using needles to address various physical ailments into a tiny capsule.

Tests on the pills are ongoing, and the pill is initially designed to cure migraines by "mimicking the effects of acupuncture," Molecular Acupuncture chief executive David Picard said.

Acupuncture has been used for thousands of years in many parts of Asia, where it's believed that pricking a patient with stainless steel needles in strategic places helps nerve and circulatory functions. Oriental medicine views disease as a physical expression of imbalances in the body. Acupuncture and other treatments are designed to restore such balances.

By the end of the study in 2006, scientists would have collated blood samples from over 1,600 migraine sufferers in Singapore and China that will help identify genes and proteins that react to acupuncture, Picard said.

"The research is focused on understanding, from a biological standpoint, what acupuncture does in our body," he said.

The pill is designed to simulate a biological reaction similar that of acupuncture needles, he said.

Work began in Tianjin, China, last year, when an initial group of 60 migraine sufferers underwent acupuncture. Blood samples from those who responded were separated from those who did not respond to the needle treatment.

Research and development costs could reach US$20 million, Molecular Acupuncture said. The company received a grant from the city-state's Economic Development Board, said Picard, but declined to elaborate.

After years of relying on manufacturing, Singapore has been actively wooing biotechnology firms to set up base here as it tweaks its economy to cater to competition from China and India.

If the acupuncture pill to cure migraines is successful, Picard said they would attempt another pill to treat depression and addiction by utilizing the same method.

Picard said the firm was not trying to undermine traditional acupuncturists.

"I don't intend to change mindsets. There are people, especially in Asia, who are eager not to put chemicals in their bodies," said Picard. "They can stick to acupuncture."

One acupuncturist agreed.

"A pill is a pill. It might not work on acupoints on the body," said Chen Keng Leong, who has been practising acupuncture for over 20 years in Singapore.