leadership

Anthony Mack is a pharma/biotech entrepreneur with 35+ years of experience founding, scaling, and exiting life-science ventures. His leadership playbook combines breakthrough science, defensible IP, milestone discipline, and strategic alliances where partners invest, join boards, and help build value.

Career Highlights

• ProSolus Inc. — Founded and built a transdermal drug-delivery company; brought in Mission Pharmacal as a strategic investor and board participant; ultimately acquired by Mission Pharmacal.
• Scilex Pharmaceuticals — Served as Chairman, President & CEO; secured a strategic investment from Itochu Chemical Frontier (ITOCHU Corporation), which became Scilex’s largest investor with board-level collaboration; subsequently acquired by a publicly traded biopharma company.
• Virpax Pharmaceuticals (NASDAQ: VRPX) — Chairman & CEO; completed a successful NASDAQ IPO (2021) and raised $60M in total (IPO + follow-on); expanded IP and obtained NIH & DoD grants to advance neuroscience programs.

Leading Pathways Neuro Pharma

As President & CEO of Pathways Neuro Pharma, Anthony is advancing next-generation gene therapies for Juvenile Parkinson’s Disease (JPD) with expansion into other rare neurological disorders. The strategy pairs early mitochondrial engagement with durable dopaminergic rebalance to address distinct disease drivers.

Dual Innovation Strategy

1. Mitochondrial Replacement Gene Therapy — Prioritizes earlier onset of therapeutic expression to activate mitochondrial quality-control and cellular-repair pathways as quickly as possible, aiming to slow or halt neurodegeneration. (Patent pending)
2. Non-Agonist Dopaminergic Therapy — Prioritizes durable, steady-state expression to normalize dopaminergic tone over time without direct receptor overstimulation, aiming to reduce tolerance, dyskinesia, and psychiatric side effects associated with chronic L-dopa and traditional agonists.

AAV6.2FF Platform

Both programs leverage AAV6.2FF, a next-generation, patent-protected vector engineered for CNS targeting. In preclinical models, the platform supports broad CNS distribution and robust transgene expression over extended periods—enabling each program to emphasize the kinetic profile most aligned to its mechanism of action: earlier onset for mitochondrial replacement and long-term durability for non-agonist dopaminergic normalization. (~12–15 months of expression observed in preclinical studies.)

What Anthony Brings (for Investors & Partners)

• Strategic alliances that invest and govern — repeat history of partners who fund, join boards, and co-build value.
• Capital formation — $100M+ raised across ventures; public-market experience (IPO + follow-on).
• IP & non-dilutive funding — portfolio building (issued + pending patents), NIH/DoD grants, and a rare-pediatrics regulatory mindset.
• Operator discipline — translates science into de-risked milestones and partnering opportunities that create value for patients, investors, and acquirers.

At Pathways, this approach is applied with urgency, precision, and purpose to deliver durable therapies for families while building enduring value for stakeholders.

All Pathways programs are investigational; safety and efficacy have not been established in humans.

Doug Centilli is an experienced executive with two decades of service at the United States Capitol in Washington DC where he held the positions of Chief of Staff to United States Congressman Kevin Brady and Director of National Econmic Policy for The Joint Economic Committee. He played key roles in healthcare policy including the areas of biotechnology and R&D. Doug is a Member of the Founders' circle of The Texas A&M Institute for Genomic Medicine, a cutting-edge genomic research center that houses the world’s largest library of embryonic mouse stem cells.  Mr. Centilli’s public service began in the Texas Capitol in Austin where he held senior positions for members of the House of Representatives and served as a Special Assistant in the Office of Governor Bill Clements. He serves on the board of the Archer Center at the University of Texas and Sights Unseen, a unique program that provides vision care in developing countries. 

Doug also serves on the advisory board of Helping a Hero, an organization that provides specially adapted homes and community support for severely injured military personnel. He is a graduate of Texas A&M University, where he was also a member of the Texas A&M football team.