On Mar. 25, 2020, the Jackson Laboratory (JAX) announced it was working to ensure that the worldwide research community had access to a mouse model that can serve as an accurate experimental platform for COVID-19. In 2007 Stanley Perlman and Paul McCray of the University of Iowa developed the K18-hACE2 mouse, which carries the hACE2 (human angiotensin I converting enzyme 2) gene; this is the gene that encodes the receptor that the COVID-19 binds to, infecting cells and causing illness.

To generate sufficient quantities of the K18-hACE2 mice, the JAX team immediately initiated a large-scale in vitro fertilization (IVF) program. By using IVF alongside traditional breeding, JAX generated a new colony of hACE2 mice. The colony can now be sized to meet the demands of researchers around the world.