Cyber Business Podcast

Why Public Biotechs Back Better Cybersecurity with Anthony Morano

Written by Matthew Connor | May 5, 2025 11:00:00 AM

Anthony Morano serves as Director of Information Technology and Cybersecurity at Lexeo Therapeutics, bringing a remarkable career trajectory from fixed-income finance to biotech infrastructure leadership. His combined financial acumen and deep IT experience have instilled a pragmatic, business-aligned approach to cybersecurity in the complex and fast-moving world of rare disease research. At Lexeo, Anthony has led efforts to secure intellectual property, modernize lab computing environments, and deploy a defense-in-depth architecture, all while functioning as a team of one. As Director, Anthony navigates startup resource constraints, clinical compliance mandates, and evolving international regulatory frameworks, all within a highly specialized pharmaceutical environment.



Here’s a glimpse of what you’ll learn: 

  • How Anthony transitioned from finance into IT leadership
  • The unique challenges of securing biotech infrastructure with limited headcount
  • Why startup culture in biotech creates both freedom and friction
  • How layered security strategies protect IP in clinical-stage pharma
  • The role of AI in accelerating scientific research vs day-to-day operations
  • Why public companies may support security investments more than private ones
  • How Formstack and Spin.AI improved both compliance and resilience
  • What it's like to architect IT and cybersecurity entirely from scratch


In this episode…

Anthony Morano shares how he leveraged a background in finance and self-taught programming to become a hands-on IT and cybersecurity leader in biotech. Starting with annuity calculations in Excel and VB, Anthony moved from labor unions to life sciences, eventually earning leadership roles at some of the most regulated organizations in New York. Now at Lexeo Therapeutics, a clinical-stage biotech startup focused on rare diseases, he's doing it all—building security policy, architecting systems, and implementing cutting-edge tools as the company’s sole IT expert.

Anthony discusses the reality of shifting from enterprise environments to lean biotech operations. With fewer than 80 employees and no internal IT team before his arrival, he walks us through how he balanced rapid innovation with risk mitigation. His "electric in the walls" analogy for foundational IT upgrades is especially powerful: invisible, but critical to long-term function and safety.

He also dives into specific wins, like integrating Spin.AI for real-time ransomware protection in Office 365 and implementing Formstack for GxP-compliant digital forms. On the lab side, Anthony shares how reworking Intune policies allowed secure, streamlined SSO access without breaking scientific workflows. His insights reveal how thoughtful architecture and business-first thinking can bring enterprise-level security to even the smallest clinical environments.

Lastly, Anthony offers a candid look at the realities of title shifts and perceived demotions when joining a startup. But as he explains, the ability to design, build, and influence every corner of the IT environment makes it not just worthwhile—but exciting.

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Matthew Connor on LinkedIn
CyberLynx 
Anthony Morano on LinkedIn
Lexeo Therapeutics Website


Sponsor for this episode...

This episode is brought to you by CyberLynx.com  

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CyberLynx is a complete technology solution provider to ensure your business has the most reliable and professional IT service.

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