A University of Nottingham spinout that has developed a novel gene-editing tool has raised £2m from the Midlands Engine Investment Fund II, through its appointed fund manager, Mercia Ventures.

The investment will enable Forge Genetics to expand its commercial work developing bacteria strains for pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, and adapt its tool for use with human and animal cells.

Forge’s technology offers some key advantages over CRISPR, a widely-used tool that enables scientists to modify genes by inserting or removing sections of DNA. Because it is more precisely targeted, it enables more bacterial cells to survive the editing process, and can be used with a much wider range of bacterial strains. It may also provide a safer way to modify human cells. Unlike CRISPR, it can detect unwanted DNA mutations resulting from the editing process and filter out the damaged cells.