We report the determination of an effective protein-protein central potential for a lysozyme solution, obtained from the direct inversion of the total structure factor of the system, as extracted from small angle neutron scattering. The inversion scheme rests on a hypernetted-chain relationship between the effective potential and the structural functions, and is preliminarily tested for the case of a Lennard-Jones interaction. The characteristics of our potential are discussed in comparison with current models of effective interactions in complex fluids. The phase behavior predictions are also investigated.