Novartis Settles With Henrietta Lacks Estate Over Immortal Cell Line
Finn's Take· TL;DR- Novartis reached a confidential settlement with Henrietta Lacks' estate over profits from her immortal HeLa cell line used in multiple drugs.
- HeLa cells, taken without consent in 1951, became foundational to modern medicine enabling thousands of patents while the Lacks family received no compensation.
- Multiple lawsuits remain active against other pharmaceutical companies, signaling a broader reckoning over exploitation of Black patients in medical research and profit-sharing.
A Second Victory for the Lacks Family
The estate of Henrietta Lacks has secured another legal victory against pharmaceutical companies profiting from her "stolen" cells, with Novartis reaching a confidential settlement to end an 18-month lawsuit filed in Baltimore federal court . This marks the second settlement for the family, following a 2023 agreement with Thermo Fisher Scientific .
Both the Lacks family and Swiss-based Novartis expressed satisfaction in resolving the matter outside of court, though they declined to comment further on the settlement terms . The 2024 lawsuit had sought "the full amount of its net profits obtained by commercializing the HeLa cell line," which the complaint described as cultivated from "stolen cells" .
The Legacy of Henrietta Lacks
Henrietta Lacks was a young mother of three in Baltimore when she developed cervical cancer, and tissue taken from a biopsy at Johns Hopkins Hospital before she died at age 31 in 1951 became the first human cells to grow and reproduce in lab dishes . She was a poor tobacco farmer from southern Virginia who had moved with her husband to Turner Station, a historically Black community outside Baltimore .
The HeLa cell line has become foundational to modern medicine. According to the lawsuit, Novartis used these cells in developing products including the herpes treatment Famvir, the CAR-T therapy Kymriah, and the gene therapy Zolgensma . Though Johns Hopkins never profited from HeLa cells, pharmaceutical companies and research institutions have secured thousands of patents using the cell line .
Ongoing Legal Battles
Multiple lawsuits by the Lacks estate remain active, including cases against Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical and Viatris, with attorneys indicating additional complaints could be filed . These lawsuits represent a broader challenge to biomedical businesses accused of reaping rewards from a racist medical system that took advantage of Black patients .
The cases raise complex questions for courts, as Lacks' situation traces back to 1951, when doctors didn't need patients' permission to harvest their cells . The lawsuits argue that companies like Novartis were long aware of the cells' origins, with Novartis even referencing Lacks' story in a 2021 web post promoting health equity initiatives .
A Story That Changed Medical Ethics
The remarkable science and its impact on the Lacks family were documented in Rebecca Skloot's 2010 bestselling book "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks," which was later adapted into a 2017 HBO film starring Oprah Winfrey . Lacks died of cervical cancer at age 31 and was buried in an unmarked grave , yet her cells have enabled countless medical breakthroughs.
These settlements represent more than financial compensation—they acknowledge decades of exploitation and signal a shift toward recognizing the contributions of marginalized communities to medical advancement. As the pharmaceutical industry continues to benefit from HeLa cells, these legal victories may establish precedent for how companies must account for the human stories behind their scientific breakthroughs.