Retham Technologies, Inc. has announced the initial close of a $1.5 million seed financing round led by Talents Fund, with participation from Golden Angels Investors and Milwaukee Venture Partners. The capital will support the advancement of HITDx, the company’s functional diagnostic assay for heparin-induced thrombocytopenia, commonly known as HIT. This financing complements $4.8 million in non-dilutive awards from the National Institutes of Health and reinforces the clinical and commercial potential of Retham’s diagnostic platform.
The Clinical Challenge of Heparin-Induced Thrombocytopenia
Heparin is among the most widely used blood thinners, but a subset of patients can develop a severe immune reaction known as HIT. The condition causes a dangerous drop in platelet count and can simultaneously trigger life-threatening blood clots. Frontline immunoassays frequently produce false positives, while gold-standard functional tests require fresh donor platelets and are limited to specialized reference laboratories, creating costly delays in treatment decisions.
A Decentralized Functional Testing Solution
HITDx is designed to deliver rapid and accurate functional HIT testing directly within hospital and clinical laboratories. The assay uses Retham’s proprietary cryopreserved platelet technology to eliminate the logistical burden of sourcing fresh donor platelets. This capability is expected to decentralize functional HIT testing and enable faster, more informed clinical decision making.
Broader Platform Potential
Beyond HITDx, the company’s Cryoplatelet technology supports a wider range of platelet-based testing and blood research applications. Retham sees potential uses in platelet immunology, clinical diagnostics, and drug de-risking, which could provide additional commercial pathways. This broader platform strategy positions the company to serve multiple needs across healthcare and life science research.
Market and Clinical Significance
Functional HIT testing is currently constrained by centralized workflows that depend on fresh donor platelets, limiting access for many hospitals. Retham’s approach could shift this paradigm by placing gold-standard testing within routine clinical laboratories. That shift may reduce unnecessary treatment, lower costs, and improve patient safety by delivering results in a clinically relevant timeframe.
Scientific Foundation and Leadership
Retham’s cryopreserved platelet technology was created by co-founders Dr. Anand Padmanabhan and Curtis Jones and includes core intellectual property exclusively licensed from Mayo Clinic. Dr. Padmanabhan serves as Chief Medical Officer and is an internationally recognized expert in platelet immunology and coagulation disorders, including HIT. Curtis Jones, Vice President of Research and Innovation, has co-authored numerous scientific publications on HIT alongside Dr. Padmanabhan.
Funding, Validation, and Next Steps
The seed financing arrives alongside $4.8 million in non-dilutive funding from the National Institutes of Health, including a recent $2.8 million Phase IIB Small Business Innovation Research award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. Steven Visuri, Chief Executive Officer of Retham Technologies, said the combined support validates both the clinical need and the company’s commercial opportunity. The company plans to use the capital for clinical validation, FDA 510(k) clearance activities, manufacturing scale up, and commercial readiness.
Investor Perspective
Dan Sem, general partner at Talents Fund, said Retham combines an urgent clinical need with differentiated proprietary platelet technology and exceptional scientific leadership. Talents Fund led the round as part of its focus on breakthrough life science companies developing diagnostics, therapeutics, and healthcare technologies. The firm expressed confidence in the team’s ability to move HITDx toward the clinical market.
Retham Technologies now has additional capital and institutional validation to advance a diagnostic that could make accurate HIT testing more accessible outside specialized laboratories. The company’s cryopreserved platelet platform may also support broader applications in blood research and clinical diagnostics. If successful, HITDx could reduce delays in care and improve outcomes for patients at risk of heparin-induced thrombocytopenia.