Dr. Mario Alberto Accardi is the President of the Orexin Program at Centessa Pharmaceuticals. Most recently, he was the CEO and Founder of Orexia Therapeutics, a neuroscience company harnessing advanced structural biology technologies to discover and develop orexin agonists for narcolepsy and other sleep wake disorders. At Orexia, he successfully raised a €40M Series A, established multiple strategic partnerships, and led the company to acquisition by Centessa Pharmaceuticals in 2021.
Previously, Mario was in life sciences venture capital as an Investment Associate at Entrepreneurs Fund, and later as a Venture Partner at Fort Rock Capital. In these roles, he led deals in pre-clinical and clinical stage biotech companies across different therapeutic areas.
Earlier in his career, Mario founded and led Imperial College spin-out medtech company Orthonika.
Mario holds a Postgraduate in Genomic Medicine, a PhD in Biomedical Engineering, and a First-Class Honours MEng Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College London.
