Henrietta Lack's Family Settles With Thermo Fisher

Need2Know Headlines

Biotech company, Thermo Fisher Scientific and the family of a woman whose cells were taken to be cloned decades ago without her knowledge, settled in court today in Baltimore, Maryland. Henrietta lacks cervical cells were removed at Johns Hopkins Hospital in 1951 before she died from cervical cancer. The cells have been used by Thermo Fisher for cloning purposes and to advance polio vaccines, genetic mapping and to develop the COVID-19 vaccine. Despite the medical impact, the lax family never received any compensation. They sued the company in 2021 saying Thermo Fisher continues to profit from the commercial success.