The estate of Henrietta Lacks has now reached three confidential settlements over the unauthorized commercial use of the HeLa cell line: with Thermo Fisher Scientific in August 2023, with Novartis in February 2026, and with Viatris in March 2026. None of the amounts have been disclosed. A fourth case, against Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical, remains active in federal court in Maryland.
Why the Estate Has a Claim
Henrietta Lacks was a 31-year-old mother of five when she went to Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore on February 1, 1951, complaining of vaginal bleeding. Doctors diagnosed cervical cancer, and during a biopsy a sample of her tumor was sent to researcher Dr. George Gey without her knowledge or permission.1National Center for Biotechnology Information. Henrietta Lacks, HeLa Cells, and Cell Culture Contamination She died on October 4, 1951.2Johns Hopkins Medicine. Henrietta Lacks
Her cells did something no previous tissue sample had done in Gey’s lab: they kept dividing. That immortal line, named HeLa from the first letters of her name, went on to underpin the polio vaccine, cancer and virus research, in vitro fertilization, human genome mapping, and COVID-19 vaccine development. Nearly 11,000 patents involve the line.3National Center for Biotechnology Information. Almost 11,000 Patents Involving HeLa Cells Her family did not learn any of this until a 1976 magazine article, 25 years after her death.1National Center for Biotechnology Information. Henrietta Lacks, HeLa Cells, and Cell Culture Contamination
The Thermo Fisher Settlement
On October 4, 2021, the estate, represented by executor and grandson Ron L. Lacks, sued Thermo Fisher Scientific in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland. The complaint brought a single claim of unjust enrichment, alleging Thermo Fisher knowingly mass-produced and sold HeLa cells despite understanding they had been taken without consent.4Courthouse News Service. Lacks v. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Complaint At the time, Thermo Fisher sold at least 12 products containing HeLa cells and reported $44.9 billion in revenue for fiscal year 2022.5PharmaVoice. Henrietta Lacks Lawsuit, Thermo Fisher, Ultragenyx, Immortal Cells The estate was represented by civil rights attorney Ben Crump and Chris Seeger and Chris Ayers of Seeger Weiss LLP.6Reuters. Thermo Fisher Settles Henrietta Lacks Lawsuit Over HeLa Cell Line
Thermo Fisher argued the case was filed too late and that the estate had not stated a valid unjust enrichment claim.6Reuters. Thermo Fisher Settles Henrietta Lacks Lawsuit Over HeLa Cell Line The case never reached a ruling. After closed-door negotiations at the federal courthouse in Baltimore on August 1, 2023, the parties settled on confidential terms.7WTTW News. Henrietta Lacks Family Settles Lawsuit With Biotech Company That Used Her Cells Without Consent The date would have been Henrietta Lacks’s 103rd birthday.8New York Times. Henrietta Lacks Cells Lawsuit Settlement
In a joint statement, the parties said they were “pleased to resolve the matter” and declined further comment.9WBAL-TV. Henrietta Lacks Family Settles Lawsuit With Pharmaceutical Company Grandson Alfred Lacks Carter Jr. said: “There couldn’t have been a more fitting day for her to have justice, for her family to have relief. It was a long fight — over 70 years — and Henrietta Lacks gets her day.”10PBS NewsHour. Family of Henrietta Lacks Settles With Company That Profited
The Novartis and Viatris Settlements
On August 5, 2024, the estate filed a second federal lawsuit in Maryland naming Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, Novartis Gene Therapies Inc., Viatris Inc., and Mylan Pharmaceuticals.11Seeger Weiss LLP. Seeger Weiss Represents Henrietta Lacks Family in New Lawsuit Against Novartis and Viatris Against Novartis, the complaint cited the antiviral Famvir, the CAR-T therapy Kymriah, and the gene therapy Zolgensma, and alleged that the Novartis corporate family holds hundreds of patents built on Lacks’s genetic materials. Against Viatris and Mylan, it cited the antiviral cream Denavir, the antidepressant mirtazapine, and the cancer drug hydroxyurea.12STAT News. Lacks v. Novartis and Viatris, Complaint
Both sets of defendants settled on confidential terms. The court dismissed all claims against the Novartis defendants with prejudice on February 16, 2026, and the settlement was announced later that month.13New York Times. Novartis Settlement With Henrietta Lacks Family Over Stolen Cells14CourtListener. Lacks v. Viatris Inc., Docket Viatris filed a joint stipulation of dismissal on March 11, 2026, and the case was formally closed on March 12.15Claims Journal. Henrietta Lacks Family Settles With Viatris
The Ultragenyx Case Is Still Active
On August 10, 2023, just days after the Thermo Fisher settlement, the estate sued Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical in the same Maryland federal court. The complaint alleges Ultragenyx uses a proprietary “HeLa PCL platform” to mass-produce HeLa cells for gene therapies, including investigational treatments DTX401, DTX301, UX701, and UX111.16Ben Crump Law. Lacks v. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc., Complaint
Ultragenyx moved to dismiss, arguing the claim was time-barred, that the company was too remote from the 1951 taking to be liable, and that Maryland law required pleading an independent underlying tort. In May 2024, U.S. District Judge Deborah L. Boardman denied the motion on every ground.17Reuters. Ultragenyx Must Face Henrietta Lacks Family Lawsuit Over HeLa Cell Profits She wrote that asking a court to find Ultragenyx’s use of the cells too disconnected from the original seizure “is not the law,” and found the company may be barred from raising a statute-of-limitations defense because it was not registered to do business in Maryland as state law requires.18Bloomberg Law. Henrietta Lacks Family Can Advance Ultragenyx Cell Use Suit Judge Boardman denied a follow-up motion for judgment on the pleadings in March 2025, along with the company’s requests for an interlocutory appeal and a discovery stay.19FindLaw. Lacks v. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc.
As of mid-2026, the case is in discovery with no trial date set. Magistrate Judge J. Mark Coulson has been assigned to handle settlement discussions.20CourtListener. Lacks v. Ultragenyx Pharmaceutical Inc. The estate’s attorneys have said additional lawsuits against other companies may follow.21CNN. Henrietta Lacks Cells Novartis Settlement
The Legal Theory Behind the Settlements
Every one of these cases has been pleaded as unjust enrichment, and there is a reason. In the 1990 California case Moore v. Regents of the University of California, the state’s highest court ruled that patients do not retain property rights in tissues removed during medical procedures and are not entitled to a share of profits from later research.22American Bar Association. Legal and Ethical Foundations of Human Subjects Research The Lacks estate has avoided that obstacle by not claiming ownership of the cells. It instead argues that companies knowingly profited from materials obtained through a breach of trust and without consent.4Courthouse News Service. Lacks v. Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc., Complaint
Judge Boardman’s rulings in the Ultragenyx case gave that theory its first substantial judicial endorsement, rejecting both the remoteness defense and the argument that Maryland law demands an independent underlying tort.18Bloomberg Law. Henrietta Lacks Family Can Advance Ultragenyx Cell Use Suit Because all three resolved cases ended in confidential settlements rather than merits rulings, no court has decided whether this kind of claim would win at trial. Legal analysts have noted practical barriers for anyone trying to follow the Lacks family’s lead, including the difficulty of tracing a commercialized cell line to a specific patient and statutes of limitations that typically require filing within three years of discovering the unauthorized use.23Science. What Does Historic Settlement Won by Henrietta Lacks’s Family Mean for Others
What About Johns Hopkins
The hospital where the cells were originally taken has not been sued. Johns Hopkins has stated it “never sold or profited from the discovery or distribution of HeLa cells and does not own the rights to the HeLa cell line.”24NPR. Henrietta Lacks Descendants Settlement Over Stolen Cells It has acknowledged that while collecting cells without consent was considered acceptable practice in the 1950s, the institution “could have — and should have — done more to inform and work with members of Henrietta Lacks’ family.”2Johns Hopkins Medicine. Henrietta Lacks
Separately from the litigation, the family reached an agreement with the National Institutes of Health in 2013 giving it a role in decisions about federally funded research using HeLa genomic data. A working group that includes Lacks family members reviews requests to access controlled HeLa data, and the NIH Director makes the final call. The NIH reaffirmed that commitment in August 2023.25National Institutes of Health. NIH-Lacks Family Agreement That arrangement is separate from the money settlements and does not involve payment to the family.