Retension Pharmaceuticals Appoints LeAnne Bloedon, M.S., RD, as EVP of Clinical Development and Operations, and Kevin Schutz, PharmD, as VP Regulatory Affairs

Appointments strengthen clinical and regulatory leadership as the Company advances RTN-001 through its Phase 2b trial

FALLS CHURCH, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Retension Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (“Retension” or the “Company”), a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing medicines for the treatment of hypertension and other cardiovascular diseases, today announced that LeAnne Bloedon, M.S., RD, and Kevin Schutz, PharmD, have joined the Company as Executive Vice President, Clinical Development and Operations, and as Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, respectively.

“LeAnne and Kevin are accomplished leaders who have taken novel cardiovascular and metabolic therapies from clinical development through global approval,” said Eric Keller, Chief Executive Officer of Retension Pharmaceuticals. “LeAnne’s decades of clinical development and operational leadership, together with Kevin’s regulatory strategy across the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”), the European Medicines Agency (“EMA”), and other regulatory authorities, will strengthen our operational capabilities. Their experience will be instrumental as we advance RTN-001 through its ongoing Phase 2b trial and prepare for the next stages of development.”

LeAnne Bloedon, M.S., RD — Executive Vice President, Clinical Development and Operations

Ms. Bloedon brings more than 25 years of clinical development leadership across cardiovascular disease, metabolic disorders, and rare disease, and has been instrumental in the development of multiple first-in-class medications approved in the U.S., Europe, and beyond. Prior to joining Retension, she served as Vice President, Head of Development at Esperion Therapeutics, where she spent 10 years in roles of increasing responsibility, including leading or co-leading the clinical strategy behind bempedoic acid’s approval in 42 countries, and overseeing all clinical trials, medical affairs activities, and pharmacovigilance for Nexletol®, Nexlizet®, and Enbumyst™. Prior to her role at Esperion Therapeutics, Ms. Bloedon was at Aegerion Pharmaceuticals, where she was responsible for the clinical trials supporting the approval of lomitapide in 38 countries. Earlier in her career, she led discovery efforts at the University of Pennsylvania to address key challenges in administering lomitapide.

Ms. Bloedon holds a Master of Science in Nutrition from Case Western Reserve University and a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Kevin Schutz, PharmD — Vice President, Regulatory Affairs

Dr. Schutz is a regulatory affairs leader with more than 20 years of experience with particular expertise in cardiology and cardiometabolic disease, guiding small and mid-sized companies through interactions with global health authorities and drug development strategy. Prior to joining Retension, Dr. Schutz served as Vice President, Global Regulatory Affairs at Corxel Pharmaceuticals, where he led the regulatory function for three development programs in hypertension, endocrinology and neurology. Prior to joining Corxel Pharmaceuticals, Dr. Schutz led regulatory efforts at CinCor Pharma, a clinical-stage company focused on treatments for resistant and uncontrolled hypertension, which was acquired by AstraZeneca in 2023. There, he managed key FDA interactions, including the End-of-Phase 2 meeting that supported Phase 3 protocol development. He has extensive experience working with global health authorities, including the FDA, EMA, and Japan’s Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Agency. Earlier in his career, Dr. Schultz was in roles of increasing responsibility at Insmed, Ipsen, Amarin, and EKR Therapeutics.

Dr. Schutz earned a Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) and a Bachelor in Science in Pharmacy from the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia.

About Retension Pharmaceuticals

Retension Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing medicines for the treatment of hypertension and other cardiovascular conditions. The company’s lead clinical candidate, RTN-001, is in development for patients with uncontrolled and resistant hypertension.

About RTN-001

Retension Pharmaceuticals is developing RTN-001, a cardiovascular-targeted, next-generation PDE5 inhibitor designed to directly enhance nitric oxide signaling in central arteries not adequately reached by first-generation PDE5 inhibitors, thereby addressing a core driver of hypertension. RTN-001 has been studied in multiple clinical trials totaling 265 subjects. RTN-001 has a demonstrated efficacy and safety profile in patients and healthy volunteers with clinically meaningful reductions in blood pressure. A Phase 2b trial of RTN-001 in hypertension is ongoing. RTN-001 is being developed under an exclusive world-wide license from Sanofi S.A.

For more information, please see www.retensionpharmaceuticals.com

Special Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements, which statements involve substantial risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact, including statements regarding Retension’s future results of operations or financial condition, business strategy and plans, and objectives of management for future operations, are forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements include, among others, statements relating to Retension’s ability to obtain regulatory approval of its current and future product candidates, the timing, progress and results of its clinical trials, its market opportunity and the potential growth of that market, and other similar matters. These forward-looking statements are based on Retension’s current expectations and assumptions about future events, which are inherently subject to uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. Retension’s actual results may differ materially from those expressed in, or implied by, such forward-looking statements. Retension undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements after the date of this press release or to conform such statements to actual results or revised expectations, except as required by law.