Personalized health startup Proventys lands $5.65M in financing

Durham, N.C. — Porventys, a startup focused on personalized medicine launched by former Duke University Chancellor Ralph Synderman, has closed on $5.65 million in venture funding, a high-profile investor and a powerful business partner.

The company also named Timothy Thompson, a former director of mergers and acquisitions at Aetna, as its chief executive officer.

Synderman is chairman of Proventys. He launched the firm in 2004.

Proventys also closed on what could be a major business deal, securing a partnership with Atlanta-based McKesson, a healthcare information technology firm. McKesson will include risk-prediction software modules developed by Proventys as part of its clinical decision support suite.

In 2006, Proventys closed on $1 million in funding.

The company describes itself as a "company at the forefront of transforming health care into a personalized and preventative approach through the development of unique risk assessment and clinical decision support tools. These tools should rapidly become part of the patients' clinical evaluation to improve their care and therapy as a result of evidence-based decisions and personalization."

Burrill & Company, an internationally known life science investment firm, led the venture funding.

“Personalized medicine has the potential for transforming the healthcare industry by having an impact on such critical issues as chronic disease management and prevention,” said Steve Burrill, chief executive officer at Burrill. “Before the promise of personalized medicine can be realized, however, the right set of technologies needs to be in place. By focusing on IT solutions that can bring personalized medicine to the point of care, Proventys is favorably positioned to play a key role in this evolution.”

As part of the deal, Burrill joined the Proventys board.

Thompson had worked at Aetna since 2002, launching a business unit focused on informatics. Earlier in his career he served as chief operating officer and vice president of development at a venture-backed mobile data capture and clinical trial software firm.

“Tim has proven expertise in advancing healthcare organizations as they commercialize their solutions,” said Snydermann, an MD, said in a statement. “His skills will be invaluable in moving Proventys forward as we bring risk prediction technologies to commercialization and provide clinicians with tools to enhance their ability to make the right decisions for their patients. I will remain at Proventys as chairman of the board and will continue to be actively involved in supporting Tim and his team.”