Collaboration often is the key to success in business. And when it comes to life sciences, you can double down. Numerous functions and areas of expertise are needed to transform an idea into reality, and we learned more about Indiana’s ability to partner our way to life sciences leadership at our latest FrameWORX on March 13.

First, some context: Indiana has been a life sciences leader for decades. Eli Lilly and Company was founded in 1876 and for decades ushered through innovations that address diabetes, depression, schizophrenia, Alzheimer’s, obesity, and other challenging conditions.

Today, Indiana leads the U.S. in pharmaceutical exports and we’re No. 2 in life sciences exports. Our life sciences industry contributes $95 billion toward the Hoosier State’s economy and Indiana ranks among the top 5 states in life sciences employment.

Unleashing innovation is leading to strong growth – and commercializing scientific opportunities is paramount to achieving next-generation success. But going it alone – regardless of your size, strength, or location – is rarely optimal in the life sciences. Leaders from academia and industry alike talked about leveraging the newest opportunities before a capacity FrameWORX crowd at 16 Tech.

Critical to Indiana’s growth opportunities are organizations and resources that facilitate success. BioCrossroads has been around for more than two decades and has supported much of Indiana’s recent growth by facilitating funding and collaboration that fuel our state’s work.

We kicked off the event with a candid conversation about innovation and entrepreneurship in Indiana’s life sciences sector. Moderated by BioCrossroads’ Chief Innovation Officer Mike Bolinder, the panel featured Diana Caldwell of Amplified Sciences, Richard Church of Parkview Health, and Derek Small of Luson Bioventures. Each brought a unique perspective—startup founder, health system leader, and investor—but all emphasized the same truth: bringing a breakthrough to market takes more than a good idea. It takes a strong network, trusted partnerships, and an ecosystem that understands both the science and the business behind innovation. From early lessons learned to the value of local collaborations, the discussion offered a powerful reminder of why Indiana continues to be a launchpad for life sciences success.

Key leaders coming from academia joined the conversation including David Rosenberg, president and CEO of IU Launch Accelerator for Biosciences or IU LAB, David Umulis, senior vice provost for Purdue University in Indianapolis and director of the EMBRIO Institute, and Paul Bohn, director of the Bioengineering and Life Sciences (BELS) Initiative at the University of Notre Dame. We also heard from Alan Palkowitz, president and CEO of the Indiana Biosciences Research Institute, who underscored the importance of moving quickly in today’s competitive environment.

“We need to invest and move quickly,” he said “We need to move forward with detail, with robust data, and reveal gaps that need to be filled. We also need to ask ourselves: what is the best quality product to move forward?”

Hoosier companies and innovators have important resources at their fingertips. Collectively, we find ways to turn ideas into innovation … and turn innovation into commercial success. We’ll be talking more about these organizations and how they support Hoosier innovators in the months ahead.