Family of Henrietta Lacks Files New Lawsuit Over Cells Harvested Without Her Consent

BALTIMORE (AP) — Simply over every week after Henrietta Lacks’ descendants settled a lawsuit towards a biotech firm they accused of unjustly profiting off her cells for generations, the household’s attorneys have filed one other declare towards a special company.

The brand new lawsuit, which targets California-based biopharmaceutical firm Ultragenyx, was filed Thursday in Baltimore federal courtroom, the identical venue because the lately settled case. Attorneys for the household have mentioned they plan to convey a sequence of lawsuits towards varied entities that proceed to reap rewards from the racist medical system that took benefit of Lacks.

A Black mom of 5 from southern Virginia, Lacks and her household have been residing outdoors Baltimore when she was recognized with cervical most cancers in 1951. Docs at Johns Hopkins Hospital saved a pattern of her most cancers cells collected throughout a biopsy — with out her data or consent.

She died at age 31 within the hospital’s “coloured ward,” however her genetic materials lived on, the primary human cells to constantly develop and reproduce in lab dishes. HeLa cells have since turn out to be a cornerstone of recent medication, enabling numerous scientific and medical improvements, together with the event of the polio vaccine, genetic mapping and even COVID-19 photographs.

The grievance says Ultragenyx has made a fortune by utilizing HeLa cells to develop gene remedy merchandise.

“Medical analysis has a protracted, troubled racial historical past,” attorneys for the household wrote. “The exploitation of Henrietta Lacks represents the sadly frequent battle skilled by Black folks all through American historical past. Certainly, Black struggling has fueled innumerable medical progress and revenue, with out simply compensation or recognition.”

A spokesperson for Ultragenyx didn’t instantly reply to an e mail looking for remark Thursday night.

On the time medical doctors harvested cells from Lacks’ cervical tumor, it was not illegal to do so with no affected person’s permission. However attorneys for her household accuse Ultragenyx of continuous to commercialize the outcomes lengthy after the origins of the HeLa cell line grew to become well-known — an “unjust enrichment” declare that largely mirrors the lately settled lawsuit towards Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., which was filed in 2021. The phrases of that settlement haven’t been disclosed.

The settlement got here after a number of hours of closed-door negotiations earlier this month. A few of Lacks’ grandchildren have been among the many members of the family who attended the talks in Baltimore’s federal courthouse. They held a information convention the next morning on what would have been Lacks’ 103rd birthday, saying justice had lastly been received.

Her cells have had a large affect on trendy medication as a result of in contrast to most, they survived and thrived in laboratories, permitting researchers anyplace to breed research utilizing an identical genetic materials.

The outstanding science concerned — and the affect on the Lacks household, a few of whom had persistent sicknesses and no medical insurance — have been documented in a bestselling e book by Rebecca Skloot, “The Immortal Lifetime of Henrietta Lacks,” which was printed in 2010. Oprah Winfrey portrayed her daughter in an HBO film in regards to the story.

Johns Hopkins mentioned it by no means bought or profited from the cell strains, however many firms have patented methods of utilizing them.

The lawsuit filed Thursday claims Ultragenyx management failed to hunt permission from Lacks’ descendants after realizing the place HeLa cells got here from.

“Ultragenyx’s option to proceed using HeLa cells regardless of the cell line’s origin and the concrete hurt it inflicts on the Lacks household can solely be understood as a option to embrace a legacy of racial injustice embedded within the U.S. analysis and medical techniques,” lawyer Ben Crump mentioned in a press release. “Like anybody else, Black folks have the appropriate to manage their our bodies.”

Crump, a civil rights lawyer, has turn out to be well-known for representing victims of police violence and calling for racial justice, particularly within the aftermath of George Floyd’s homicide. After the latest settlement, Crump mentioned the household was planning to file extra lawsuits.

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