While the response to the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed many of the fault lines in the biomedical innovation ecosystem that have slowed progress for decades, we have also shown ourselves capable of innovating in ways we perhaps did not think possible. Though they are neither perfect nor without controversy, there have been several "silver linings" to this pandemic, including unprecedented research collaboration, accelerated product development, innovative clinical trial designs and methods, use of real-world data and evidence, and a commitment to addressing racial and ethnic disparities in health care and research. How can we ensure that the lessons learned from this crisis are not lost when the urgency subsides -- not only for combatting future infectious disease outbreaks, but also for conducting biomedical R&D moving forward?