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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndiana has long boasted a national reputation as an up-and-coming center for health care and life sciences. The Hoosier state is home to the world’s most valuable pharmaceutical company (Eli Lilly and Co.), the largest medical school (Indiana University School of Medicine) and a sprawling array of nearly 200 hospitals, from academic medical centers to modest community hospitals.
It also has generated hundreds of biotech companies, many of them started from inventions at IU, Purdue University or the University of Notre Dame.
Now, with a new multimillion-dollar conference that kicks off on Tuesday, Indiana is trying to position itself as a globally known innovation hub. And health care will figure prominently on the agenda.
The Rally innovation conference is calling itself the “largest global cross-section innovation conference” and has lined up big-name speakers, including former Indianapolis Colts quarterback Peyton Manning and former Los Angeles Lakers guard Earvin “Magic” Johnson.
Eight health-care panel discussions, ranging from gene therapy to generative AI, are part of the conference. A total of 20 experts will discuss the issues and take questions from the audience.
Many of the panelists have deep credentials and are nationally known. The panel on gene therapy, for example, includes a professor from the New York University School of Medicine, the executive director of the Institute for Gene Therapies, the CEO of Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy and the managing director of Pathway to Cures Venture Funds.
In addition, five health-care start-up companies will vie for up to $1 million in prize money. They will gather on Wednesday morning to pitch their companies to a panel of judges, seeking to win money for their operations. (The five finalists are Kovina Therapeutics of Indianapolis; Kilele Health Inc. of Oakwood, Ohio; myBiometry of Lowell, Massachusetts; PragmaClin Research Inc. of St. John’s, Newfoundland; and Pulse Charter Connect of Chicago.)
The pitch contest is designed to entice out-of-state startups to move or stay here. To receive funding, winners must commit to establishing a significant presence in Indiana for at least a year.
The event will run for three days, starting Tuesday, at the Indiana Convention Center. It will have more than 200 speakers in all. Elevate Ventures is organizing the event, and the Indiana Economic Development Corp. is providing $1.5 million in support. Elevate Ventures is a not-for-profit that serves as a venture capital firm for the IEDC. ( IBJ Media, the parent company of IBJ, is among the sponsors.)
The event is organized around six topic areas in which the state has—or aspires to have—competitive strengths. In addition to health care, they are agriculture and food, entrepreneurship, hard tech, software and sports tech.
Here’s a quick look at the health care panels. For ticket information, visit https://rallyinnovation.com/
Tuesday
Gene Therapy: Breakthroughs in Genetic Medicine
10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.
Shaping the Future: Diversity and Representation as Catalysts in Health Tech
11 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
Innovative Approaches to Aging and Longevity
1:45 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Wednesday
AI in Health: Innovations, Ethics, and Insights
10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.
Indiana Prize Pitch Competition
11 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
The Prescription for Transformative Growth: Strategy, Investment, Innovation
11 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
Digital and Fitness Therapeutics: Innovations Advancing Health Outcomes
1:45 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Thursday
Generative AI in Healthcare and Drug Discovery
10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m.
A Healthy State of Mind, Mental Health in the Digital Age
11 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
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