Full Press Release Details
FALLS CHURCH, Va.--( BUSINESS WIRE )-- Retension Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company focused on developing RTN-001 for the treatment of hypertension, today announced that Alison D. Schecter, M.D., FACC, FCCP, and Alex Schwartz have joined the Company as Chief Medical Officer and Chief Financial Officer, respectively, as Retension advances RTN-001 through its ongoing Phase 2b trial.
“Alison and Alex bring the caliber of leadership Retension needs as it advances RTN-001 through its ongoing Phase 2b trial,” said Eric Keller, Chief Executive Officer of Retension Pharmaceuticals. “Alison’s clinical development track record in the cardiovascular space is greatly respected among physicians and executives in our industry, and her experience overseeing registration-enabling programs will define RTN-001’s path forward. Alex has helped take companies through the full arc of value creation, from financing through clinical readouts to M&A transactions, and his perspective from both Wall Street and the corporate side will be invaluable as we build Retension for our next stage of growth. We are fortunate to have them both.”
Alison D. Schecter, M.D. — Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Schecter is a physician-scientist with board certifications in cardiology and internal medicine and has more than 25 years of expertise in cardiology and immunology, including deep experience in inflammation, cardiometabolic disease, and thrombosis. She joins Retension from Mineralys Therapeutics, Inc., where she served as Chief Development Officer and oversaw three registration trials in hypertension.
Dr. Schecter completed her internal medicine training at Johns Hopkins and a Cardiology fellowship training at Massachusetts General Hospital. As an academic physician and tenured Associate Professor in Immunology and Medicine at Mount Sinai School of Medicine, Dr. Schecter built and served as co-founder of Mount Sinai School of Medicine’s Cardiovascular Research Institute.
Dr. Schecter previously served as Chief Executive Officer of Molecules to Medicine Advisory Group, President of Research and Development at Axcella Health Inc., and Chief Medical Officer at Selecta Biosciences, Inc. At Sanofi-Genzyme, she was Global Project Head and Business Development liaison for Rare Diseases, playing a central role in the approval of Xenpozyme ® . As Head of Hemophilia Programs at Baxalta Incorporated, she led the approval of Adynovate ® . Dr. Schecter currently serves on the scientific advisory boards of Rapafusyn Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and Tectonic Therapeutic, Inc.
“Cardiovascular disease remains the leading cause of death worldwide, and hypertension is the leading modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular mortality. RTN-001 represents a unique and differentiated approach, harnessing chemistry to enable a pleiotropic mechanism for patients in need with resistant hypertension, but without the electrolyte and patient tolerability issues that limit other agents,” said Dr. Schecter. “Having spent several years developing drugs in the hypertension and cardiometabolic development environment, I have a clear view of what it takes to deliver a registration-quality dataset, and I am excited to bring that experience to Retension as we approach the Phase 2b readout.”
Alex Schwartz — Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Schwartz is a seasoned finance executive with more than 15 years of experience both on the corporate side as well as on Wall Street as a biotechnology equity research analyst. He most recently served as Vice President of Financial Planning & Analysis and Investor Relations at Ventyx Biosciences, Inc., which was acquired by Eli Lilly and Company in March 2026. Prior to Ventyx, Mr. Schwartz held senior finance and investor relations roles at Allakos Inc., NGM Biopharmaceuticals, Inc. and Esperion Therapeutics, Inc. and provided financial and strategic leadership for Phase 2 and Phase 3 development, FDA and EMA approvals, and commercial launch. Earlier in his career, Mr. Schwartz was an equity research analyst at Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, where he covered cardiovascular and other therapeutic areas across the biotechnology sector. Mr. Schwartz holds a B.S. in Finance from Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and an M.B.A. from Boston College’s Carroll School of Management.
“With RTN-001 currently in a Phase 2b study for hypertension, Retension is at an important stage of growth and development,” said Mr. Schwartz. “I am honored to be part of the Retension team and look forward to helping the company achieve its strategic objectives and financial goals as we work to address the significant need for safe and effective therapies for patients with hypertension.”
About Retension Pharmaceuticals
Retension Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company developing therapies for the treatment of hypertension and other serious 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 that were previously inaccessible to first-generation PDE5 inhibitors, thereby addressing a core driver of hypertension. RTN-001 has been studied in multiple clinical trials in over 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 study 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