Novartis settles lawsuit with Henrietta Lacks’ estate
Novartis has reached a settlement with the estate of Henrietta Lacks, which alleged that the pharmaceutical company profited unjustly from her cells taken without consent in 1951, reports BritPanorama. Lacks’ cells, which contributed significantly to medical advancements, including the polio vaccine, were originally extracted during a biopsy and have been used extensively in research without appropriate compensation to her family.
The settlement, finalized in federal court in Maryland this month, keeps the details confidential. Both the Lacks family and Novartis expressed satisfaction with the resolution but opted not to provide further comments on the matter.
This agreement marks the second settlement in lawsuits initiated by Lacks’ estate, which has claimed that biomedical companies have exploited a racially biased medical system that took advantage of Black patients. This litigation concludes the dispute with Novartis, a major player in the pharmaceutical industry, over the rights associated with the HeLa cell line, named after Lacks, who passed away at 31 from cervical cancer and was buried without a marked grave.
The 2024 lawsuit sought to recover “the full amount of its net profits obtained by commercializing the HeLa cell line,” which the estate described as derived from “stolen cells.” In a notable historical context, Lacks’ cells were taken by doctors at Johns Hopkins Hospital without her informed consent, leading to their designation as the first human cells capable of indefinite growth in laboratory settings. HeLa cells have been instrumental in various breakthroughs in modern medicine, yet her family received no remuneration despite the cells’ profound contributions.
Johns Hopkins maintains that it has never profited from the HeLa cells’ usage. However, numerous companies have patented various applications stemming from these cells.
In 2023, Lacks’ estate settled an undisclosed claim with Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. The estate’s legal representatives argued that the company continued to monetize outcomes derived from the HeLa cell line long after its origins were acknowledged widely, benefitting from Lacks’ cells in the process.
Other complaints from the Lacks estate remain unresolved. Following the Thermo Fisher agreement, attorneys filed a lawsuit against Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in the same Maryland federal court. Litigation against Ultragenyx, along with Viatris, another pharmaceutical firm, continues to be active, with the family indicating that further legal actions could be forthcoming.
Henrietta Lacks, a struggling tobacco farmer from Virginia, was diagnosed with a cervical tumor while raising her five children in Turner Station, a historically Black community near Baltimore. The discovery of her cancer cells led to a significant scientific breakthrough, as her cells became the first immortalized human cell line, allowing researchers to conduct reproducible studies worldwide.
The ethical implications surrounding Lacks’ case and her family’s experiences with systemic inequalities have been extensively documented in Rebecca Skloot’s acclaimed book, “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks,” published in 2010, and further dramatized in an HBO film featuring Oprah Winfrey.
The story of Henrietta Lacks encapsulates a pivotal moment in medical ethics, illuminating the ongoing journey toward accountability in the intersection of race, science, and healthcare.
