Retension Pharma Welcomes Two to Its Executive Team

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Retension Pharmaceuticals named LeAnne Bloedon, MS, RD, Executive Vice President, Clinical Development and Operations, and Kevin Schutz, PharmD, Vice President, Regulatory Affairs. Retension, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company, develops medicines for treatment of hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases.

Executive Hires Dovetail with Lead Candidate Development

The company’s lead clinical candidate, RTN-001, is in development under an exclusive, worldwide license from Sanofi. A Phase IIb trial in hypertension is ongoing.

RTN-001 is a cardiovascular-targeted, next-generation inhibitor of the enzyme phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE5). Its design directly enhances nitric oxide signaling in central arteries not adequately reached by first-gen PDE5 inhibitors. As such, the treatment addresses a key driver of hypertension.

In previous trials totaling 265 subjects, RTN-001 demonstrated efficacy and safety, with clinically meaningful reductions in blood pressure.

Retension Touts Additions’ Pharma Experience

“LeAnne and Kevin are accomplished leaders who’ve taken therapies from clinical development through global approval,” Retension CEO Eric Keller said. “Their experience will be instrumental as we advance RTN-001 through its ongoing Phase 2b trial and prepare for the next stages of development.”

Bloedon previously spent 10 years at Esperion Therapeutics, most recently as Vice President, Head of Development. Before that, she was at Aegerion Pharmaceuticals. Both at Aegerion and earlier at The University of Pennsylvania, Bloedon worked on discovery efforts, then clinical trials, supporting lomitapide.

Meanwhile, Schutz previously served as Vice President, Global Regulatory Affairs at Corxel Pharmaceuticals. Prior to that, he led regulatory efforts at CinCor Pharma, which was acquired by AstraZeneca in 2023. Schutz’s other work experience includes roles of increasing responsibility at Insmed, Ipsen, Amarin, and EKR Therapeutics.