Tylenol producer Kenvue is reportedly preparing for a light litigation after President Donald Trump warned a baseless warning that the active ingredient in the drug, acetaminophen, could cause autism.
At a press conference on Monday, Trump repeatedly called on pregnant women, “Don’t take Tylenol.”
Together with Trump’s warning, the Food and Drug Administration released a message to doctors about the potential connection between Tylenol and Autism, and recommends that pregnant women use the lowest dose for the shortest possible duration if considered medically necessary.
In a speech from the White House, the president asked pregnant women to “fight like hell so as not to take” Tylenol, but if they “can’t hard it out” to take the lowest possible dose.
The FDA recognized “a causal relationship has not been established” between tylenol and autism, and experts warn that there are other sets of risks for pregnant women with untreated fever, including abortions and birth defects.
But with Trump administration’s claims about a possible Tylenol and autism link along with the FDA’s plan to add a security mark to Acetaminophen, it opens Kenvue to more potential legal problems both at federal and state level.
The Wall Street Journal Reported, citing people who are familiar with the case, thousands of new lawsuits against Kenvue could be filed in the coming years after the Trump Administration’s claims.
The independent has reached Kenvue for comment.
From 2022 hundreds of litigation claiming a connection between acetamino consumption during pregnancy and autism or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been filed against Johnson & Johnson and later Kenvue and other companies under WSJ. When Kenvue broke off from Johnson & Johnson in 2023, it inherited the Tylenol-related legal issues, according to the publication.
A federal judge gave up in 2023 that there was not enough evidence that acetaminophen caused autism, WSJ reported and added that the decision is appealed.
Ashley Keller, who represents families in litigation on Tylenol and autism, mentioned how new litigation could also be brought.
“If there is an invitation to action or a change in the guidelines of public health, of course, the plaintiffs’ lawyers will be aware of it and see if it affects their decision to represent clients injured,” Keller told him to WSJ.
Kenvue has stuck in his belief that “independent, sound science clearly shows that taking acetaminophen does not cause autism,” according to a statement Monday that WSJ Shared. “We strongly disagree with any proposal otherwise and are deeply concerned about the health risk this poses to expect mothers.”