Henrietta Lacks' estate hasn't "seen a dime" of the revenue Thermo
Fisher Scientific made from cultivating the HeLa cell line that was
taken from Lacks at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1951, according to the
lawsuit filed in Maryland federal court.
"The exploitation of Henrietta Lacks represents the unfortunately
common struggle experienced by Black people throughout U.S. history.
Indeed, Black suffering has fueled innumerable medical progress and
profit, without just compensation or recognition," the suit says.
Waltham, Massachusetts-based Thermo Fisher didn't immediately
respond to a request for comment.
Ben Crump, a civil rights attorney who has also represented the
families of George Floyd, Trayvon Martin, and Michael Brown
following their deaths, represents Lacks' estate.
Ron Lacks, Henrietta's grandson, is the executor of her estate.
Lacks' story was chronicled in the 2010 best-selling book and the
2017 film both titled “The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks."
The tissue sample for the HeLa cell line was taken from Lacks at
Johns Hopkins during a procedure to treat her cervical cancer, which
left her infertile, according to the lawsuit.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Oct/05/images/ads/current/stclara_lda_SPONSOR_090519.png)
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![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Oct/05/images/ads/current/castlemanor_sda_FINANCIAL_2017.png) Lacks, who wasn't told that
Johns Hopkins planned to take the samples and
didn't consent to it, died of cancer later that
year. Since then, the HeLa line,
the first to survive and reproduce indefinitely in lab conditions,
has been used to test the polio vaccine, research the effects of
radiation on human cells, and develop a treatment for sickle-cell
anemia, according to the suit.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2021/Oct/05/images/ads/current/debbiesflora_lda_092320.png)
The suit asks the court to award Lacks' estate the profits from
Thermo Fisher's use of the HeLa line and permanently block it from
using the line without permission.
"Put simply, because it made the conscious choice to profit from the
assault of Henrietta Lacks, Thermo Fisher Scientific's ill-gotten
gains rightfully belong to Ms. Lacks' estate," the lawsuit says.
(Reporting by Blake Brittain; Editing by Noeleen Walder and Aurora
Ellis)
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