The family of a Baltimore woman whose cells were extracted for medical research without her consent more than 70 years ago has filed another lawsuit against drugmakers that allegedly profited from the discoveries they made using her genetic material.
The family of Henrietta Lacks has sued Novartis and Viatris, seeking a jury trial and the “full amount” of profits obtained through their use of the “stolen” cells, according to the lawsuit, which was filed Monday in federal court in Baltimore.
“Medical research has a long, troubled history of exploiting Black individuals, and Henrietta Lacks’s story is a stark reminder of this legacy,” Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney representing the family, said in a release. “It is time for these corporations to be held accountable for their unjust enrichment and to provide the Lacks family with the recognition and compensation they deserve.”
The lawsuit is the third filed by the family against a pharma company. Last year, Thermo Fisher came to a settlement for an undisclosed sum. Days later, the Lacks’ estate filed a similar suit against Ultragenyx over its production of viral vectors.
Novartis said that it doesn’t comment on litigation. Viatris did not respond to a request for comment.
The lawsuits harken to an era when racism was rampant in the healthcare system. They also open difficult questions for courts to consider as Lacks’ case traces to 1951 when doctors didn’t need patients' permission to harvest their cells.
Lacks was a young mother of three in Baltimore when she developed cervical cancer. Tissue taken from a biopsy—before she died that same year at age 31—was saved and became the first human cells to grow and reproduce in lab dishes. Dubbed HeLa cells, they became the first “immortal human cell line” and important building blocks for scientific studies around the world, leading to the discovery of the polio and COVID vaccines, breakthroughs in genetic mapping and scores of other medical innovations.
While Johns Hopkins never profited from HeLa cells, companies and other research organizations have developed thousands of patents using HeLa cells. Novartis holds “hundreds” of those patents, according to the lawsuit.
“Novartis has utilized Mrs. Lacks’s genetic material extensively as a fundamental component in their research and development processes,” the lawsuit reads. “By using these cells, Novartis can efficiently test and refine their pharmaceutical compounds, accelerating the development of new drugs.”
Novartis and Viatris have always been aware of the origin of Lacks’ cells, according to the lawsuit. In a 2021 website posting, the company cited Lacks’ story in announcing an initiative to address health disparities through “holistic community-based collective action.”
Among the products Novartis has developed using HeLa cells, according to the lawsuit, are herpes drug Famvir, CAR-T therapy Kymriah and gene therapy Zolgensma. Viatris treatments cited in the suit include the depression drug mirtazapine and herpes drug Denavir.