Lawrence A. Bock (September 21, 1959July 6, 2016) was an American entrepreneur who has aided in starting or financing 50 early-stage growth companies, with a combined

market value Market value or OMV (Open Market Valuation) is the price at which an asset would trade in a competitive auction setting. Market value is often used interchangeably with ''open market value'', ''fair value'' or ''fair market value'', although the ...

of more than $70 billion.

Personal life

Bock was born in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, and raised in

Chappaqua Chappaqua ( ) is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of New Castle, in northern Westchester County, New York, United States. It is approximately north of New York City. The hamlet is served by the Chappaqua station of the Metro- ...

to parents Ulrike Proctor and Richard Bock. Larry had one older sibling Steven who was deaf. He received a degree in

biochemistry Biochemistry or biological chemistry is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology and ...

from

Bowdoin College Bowdoin College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Brunswick, Maine. When Bowdoin was chartered in 1794, Maine was still a part of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The college offers 34 majors and 36 minors, as well as several joint eng ...

and an MBA from

UCLA The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California St ...

. After school, he worked for

Genentech Genentech, Inc., is an American biotechnology corporation headquartered in South San Francisco, California. It became an independent subsidiary of Roche in 2009. Genentech Research and Early Development operates as an independent center within R ...

. Bock was a donor, co-founder, and the executive director of

USA Science and Engineering Festival The USA Science & Engineering Festival is a bi-annual science festival held in Washington, D.C. Founded in 2010 by Larry Bock, the festival is the largest celebration of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines in the ...

. Bock was married to Diane Birnie Bock for thirty years and had two daughters, Quincy Bock Stokes and Tasha Bock (Scruggs).

Blindness

Bock suffered from

Stargardt disease Stargardt disease is the most common inherited single-gene retinal disease. In terms of the first description of the disease, it follows an autosomal recessive inheritance pattern, which has been later linked to bi-allelic ABCA4 gene variants (S ...

, an inherited form of

macular degeneration Macular degeneration, also known as age-related macular degeneration (AMD or ARMD), is a medical condition which may result in blurred or no vision in the center of the visual field. Early on there are often no symptoms. Over time, however, som ...

that causes progressive loss of vision. He was

legally blind Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...

by the age of 29.

Career

Bock was highlighted as a "

keystone species A keystone species is a species which has a disproportionately large effect on its natural environment relative to its abundance, a concept introduced in 1969 by the zoologist Robert T. Paine. Keystone species play a critical role in maintaini ...

" in the

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

Silicon Valley Silicon Valley is a region in Northern California that serves as a global center for high technology and innovation. Located in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area, it corresponds roughly to the geographical areas San Mateo County ...

in the book ''The Rainforest''. A keystone species, in the innovation context, is someone who connects people who would benefit from working together, but who would not work together under normal circumstances because of trust, distance, and/or cultural barriers. Bock was previously a CEO of

Nanosys Nanosys is a nanotechnology company located in Milpitas, California and founded in 2001. The company develops and manufactures quantum dot materials for display products. Products Quantum Dot Enhancement Film (QDEF) Nanosys Quantum Dot Enhance ...

, where he helped to raise $55 million in funding. Bock was also a special limited partner with

Lux Capital Lux Capital is a venture capital firm based in New York City. It was founded in 2000, and focuses on investments in emerging technologies. History Lux Capital was founded in 2000 by Peter Hébert, Robert Paull and Josh Wolfe. In April 2011, for ...

. Bock founded multiple companies: * Illumina, a biotechnology company for genetic products *

, a nanotechnology company for optics and batteries * Pharmacopeia biotechnology, a company investigating small molecule combinatorial chemistry *

Idun Pharmaceuticals Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...

, a company developing drugs targeting

apoptosis Apoptosis (from grc, ἀπόπτωσις, apóptōsis, 'falling off') is a form of programmed cell death that occurs in multicellular organisms. Biochemical events lead to characteristic cell changes (morphology) and death. These changes incl ...

Caliper Life Sciences Caliper, A PerkinElmer Company produces products and services for life sciences research. The firm, founded in 1995, is based in Hopkinton, Massachusetts with direct sales, service and application-support operations in countries around the glob ...

, which aids in drug discovery. *

Neurocrine Biosciences Neurocrine Biosciences, Inc. is an American biopharmaceutical company founded in 1992. The company is headquartered in San Diego, California, and led by CEO Kevin Gorman. Neurocrine develops treatments for neurological and endocrine-related diseas ...

, which develops treatments for neurological and endocrine-related diseases and disorders. * Science Spark, a nonprofit group advocating for science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education

USA Science and Engineering Festival

Bock worked with

Lockheed Martin The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American aerospace, arms, defense, information security, and technology corporation with worldwide interests. It was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta in March 1995. It ...

to start the first USA Science and Engineering Festival in San Diego. It was later moved to Washington D.C. It premiered on the National Mall but was later moved to the Walter E. Washington Convention Center where it attracted more than 350,000 participants in 2016, making it the largest event housed in the convention center.

Death

Bock died from pancreatic cancer on July 6, 2016.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bock, Larry 1959 births 2016 deaths American investors Bowdoin College alumni Businesspeople from Brooklyn People from Chappaqua, New York UCLA Anderson School of Management alumni Deaths from cancer in New York (state) American chief executives