Dr. Ralph Snyderman, Duke University chancellor emeritus, has founded a medical research company in Durham that is attracting interest from several heavy hitters.

Proventys’ strategy is to generate and sell information that would allow physicians to provide more personalized care to their patients.

The company will be steered by a board of directors that includes Marc Owen, head of business development at San Francisco-based health care services and information giant McKesson, and David Lawrence, former chief executive of Kaiser Permanente, a leading managed care organization.

To get started, Proventys today announced it has attracted $5.65 million in private financing, led by Burrill & Co., a California venture capital firm with more than $950 million under management.