Khosla uses Cellino’s $4,995 immune-cell bank
Cellino investor Vinod Khosla is an early customer of its immune-cell storage service, whose long-term therapeutic value remains unproven.
Khosla Ventures founder uses Cellino’s immune-cell storage service
According to Forbes, Vinod Khosla, founder of investment firm Khosla Ventures, is among the first customers of Reservoir. The service, launched by Cellino, freezes immune cells for possible future treatment. At-home blood collection and the first year of storage cost $4,995.
Khosla Ventures invested in Cellino, and its founder has now used the service himself. His purchase alone does not establish the therapeutic value of stored cells: that requires clinical studies. More about the firm is available on the Khosla Ventures page in Eternal Search.
Cellino launched Reservoir on October 15 for adults aged 18 and older in selected US regions. The company collects 60 milliliters of blood and expects to obtain five vials, each containing five million immune cells. The sample contains several cell types: T-cells, B-cells, natural killer cells, and monocytes. Storage costs $270 per year after the first year. First-year prices at partner clinics vary.
The service aims to preserve cells as they are at collection. There is a biological basis for this approach: immune-cell composition changes with age. In particular, the proportion of naive T-cells declines. These cells have yet to encounter their target and can respond to a new threat. Customers receive confirmation of storage, but no report on the condition of their cells.
The sample’s future usefulness also depends on its size. Five vials contain fewer cells than an apheresis collection, a procedure in which a machine separates cells from the rest of the blood. Apheresis collects cells for CAR-T therapy, which treats certain cancers using a patient’s own T-cells after modification. Using Reservoir’s small stored sample depends on future methods for expanding and reprogramming cells.
For now, customers pay for collection, freezing, and storage. Whether that sample will provide suitable material for treatment years later remains to be established.
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Sources
[1] withreservoir.com
[2] insider.fitt.co
[3] longevity.technology
[4] doi.org
[5] forbes.com
[6] scientificamerican.com
The launch links a fresh consumer cell-banking offer to Khosla Ventures through both investment and personal use by its founder, giving readers a concrete reason to inspect the organization behind the news in Eternal Search.