Hypertensive drug developer Retension (RTSN.US) applies for US listing to raise US$58 million

The Zhitong Finance App learned that US hypertension drug developer Retension Pharmaceuticals submitted documents to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) last Friday to raise up to 58 million US dollars through an initial public offering (IPO). The company submitted a listing application confidentially on December 31, 2025. The company plans to list on NASDAQ under the ticker “RTSN” and has yet to disclose its IPO pricing terms.

Established in 2023, Retention Pharmaceuticals is a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that currently focuses on developing a single product, RTN-001. This is a PDE-5 inhibitor that is taken orally once daily to treat uncontrolled hypertension and refractory hypertension. First-generation PDE-5 inhibitors, such as Viagra, have never been able to achieve a meaningful hypotensive effect. The company believes the reason is that these drugs are difficult to fully penetrate the central vascular system rich in smooth muscle, and RTN-001 has been redesigned to improve bioavailability and increase its distribution in these tissues.

The drug was initially developed by Surface Logix, then went through Nano Terra, Kadmon, and Sanofi until the current team regained its license in 2023 and brought data from 9 completed trials, including two phase 2 trials. The company began a phase 2b dose exploration trial involving 280 patients in October 2025. Currently, about 40% of patients have been enrolled, and preliminary data is expected to be released in the first half of 2027.