Dr. Mario Alberto Accardi was appointed Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board of Directors of Centessa Pharmaceuticals in January 2026, having previously served as President of the Orexin Program, where he was responsible for leading strategic execution of the orexin pipeline. Prior to Centessa, he was founder and Chief Executive Officer 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 through its successful acquisition by Centessa in 2021.
Previously, Mario was in life sciences venture capital serving as an Investment Associate at Entrepreneurs Fund, and later as a Venture Partner at Fort Rock Capital. In these roles, he led deals in preclinical 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, and a First-Class Honours MEng Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Imperial College London.
