Swiss pharmaceutical company Novartis and US drugmaker Viatris were hit with a federal lawsuit in Maryland, USA, this week by the family of a woman whose tissue cells were taken from her body in the 1950s and used to fuel medical research and development.
The estate of Henrietta Lacks accused Novartis and Viatris of unlawfully profiting from the use of the “HeLa” cells to create drugs that have been “integral to their market presence” without paying or gaining permission from her estate.
A Novartis spokesperson said the company does not comment on litigation, reports Reuters, while Viatris did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
“Medical research has a long, troubled history of exploiting black individuals, and Henrietta Lacks’ story is a stark reminder of this legacy,” said the Lacks family attorney Ben Crump in a statement.
The new complaint follows similar lawsuits filed by the Lacks family against US pharma companies Thermo Fisher, which has since been settled, and Ultragenyx, which is still ongoing.
The HeLa cells were cut from Lacks’ cervix without her knowledge during a cancer-treatment procedure at a Baltimore hospital in 1951. The cell line was the first to survive and reproduce indefinitely in lab conditions and has been used in a wide range of medical research worldwide.
Lacks died of cervical cancer later in 1951, aged 31.
The new lawsuit said Novartis used the HeLa cells in developing its herpes drug Famvir, cancer treatment Kymriah and spinal muscular atrophy therapy Zolgensma. It accused Pennsylvania-based Viatris of misusing the cells to test its herpes drug Denavir and depression treatment Mylan-Mirtazapine.
Lacks’ cells were “exploited for research purposes and profited from by powerful organisations against her and her family’s will”, the lawsuit said.
The family requested the companies’ profits from commercialising the HeLa cells and a court order blocking them from using the cell line without its permission.
Reuters article – Novartis, Viatris face new lawsuit over 'HeLa' cell misuse claims (Open access)
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