COVID-19 has exposed many fault lines that FasterCures identifies as brakes on progress in biomedical R&D even in the best of times. The pandemic has offered a real-time, high-speed use case in how to accelerate the research and development of diagnostics, therapeutics, vaccines, and other products. What's more, it has inspired an unprecedented level of collaboration that has knocked down barriers and challenged orthodoxies. While the level of intensity may be unsustainable, there are lessons we can carry into the future to streamline how we develop and deliver the treatments and cures patients and society need.