From the Heartland to the Frontline: How Indiana Is Quietly Driving Alzheimer’s Innovation

Pintail Solutions President Jason Bork was recently published in an issue of Indiana Business journal’s special BIOFUTURES magazine. This interview series adds some additional insight beyond the article. 

Indiana may not be the first place that comes to mind when discussing cutting-edge healthcare breakthroughs—but that’s rapidly changing. From powerhouse pharmaceutical leadership to groundbreaking research in biomarkers and diagnostics, the state is emerging as a surprising epicenter for innovation in neurodegenerative disease. In this conversation, Jason C. Bork, President of Pintail Solutions, shares insights on Indiana’s growing role in Alzheimer’s research and the urgent need for a paradigm shift in how we diagnose and treat neurodegenerative conditions.

Interviewer:
So what role does Indiana’s ecosystem play in fostering innovation in complex healthcare challenges like Alzheimer’s?

Jason C. Bork:
Indiana probably isn’t the first place people think of when you mention Alzheimer’s or healthcare innovation. I was recently at the Indianapolis Business Journal’s Power Breakfast, and Plug and Play was there talking about Indiana potentially becoming the next Silicon Valley in terms of what’s happening in healthcare.

A lot of that conversation was around orthopedics and medical devices—especially up in Warsaw and northern Indiana—but even if you look just here in Indianapolis, there’s a lot to talk about. Eli Lilly and Company is now the largest drug company in the world, with an approved drug in the Alzheimer’s space and decades of investment in the field.

I worked on Alzheimer’s drugs more than 20 years ago—none of those made it to market. But that work contributed to the science that got us to where we are today. And beyond Lilly, Indiana’s research centers are doing phenomenal work in clinical studies. There’s so much additional early-stage research, especially in blood-based biomarkers and understanding disease pathology. People like Jeff Agee and others are really moving the field forward.

Indiana’s Alzheimer’s ecosystem is stronger than people realize. I’d argue it’s playing a much larger role than anyone would have anticipated in developing both new drugs and new diagnostics.

Interviewer:
Are we seeing a paradigm shift in how neurodegenerative diseases are diagnosed and treated?

Jason C. Bork:
Honestly, I don’t think we are—and that’s the problem.

If you look at oncology, drug development is almost indistinguishable from clinical treatment. Patients start with approved drugs, but clinical research quickly becomes part of the conversation—second-line, third-line treatments, and so on.

But in Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases, we’re not even diagnosing early enough. One of the biggest problems is that the tools used in clinical research are rarely used in general practice. Outside of a neurology center or specialist clinic, your average primary care doctor isn’t using cognitive health tools.

That’s going to have to change. We’re on the brink of having more tools available—from digital assessments to blood-based biomarkers—but today, clinical research and treatment are still worlds apart in Alzheimer’s. That’s the real paradigm shift we need to see.

We’re not there yet. Even with approved drugs, the question is: how fast can the industry—and frontline care—catch up?