Tylenol maker Kenvue is reportedly preparing for a glut of lawsuits after President Donald Trump made a baseless warning that the active ingredient in the drug, acetaminophen, could cause autism.
At a press conference Monday, Trump repeatedly urged pregnant women, “Don’t take Tylenol.”
Along with Trump’s warning, the Food and Drug Administration issued a notice to doctors of the potential link between Tylenol and autism, and is recommending pregnant women use the lowest dose for the shortest duration possible if deemed medically necessary.
Speaking from the White House, the president told pregnant women to “fight like hell not to take” Tylenol, but if they “can’t tough it out,” to take the lowest dose possible.
The FDA did acknowledge “a causal relationship has not been established” between Tylenol and autism, and experts warn there are other sets of risks for pregnant women with untreated fevers, including miscarriages and birth defects.
But with the Trump administration’s claims about a possible Tylenol and autism link, along with the FDA’s plan to add a safety label for acetaminophen, it opens Kenvue up for more potential legal trouble both at the federal and state level.
The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter, thousands of new lawsuits against Kenvue could be filed in the coming years following the Trump administration’s claims.
The Independent has reached out to Kenvue for comment.
Starting in 2022, hundreds of lawsuits claiming a link between acetaminophen consumption during pregnancy and autism or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been filed against Johnson & Johnson and later Kenvue and other companies, per the WSJ. When Kenvue broke off from Johnson & Johnson in 2023, it inherited the Tylenol-related legal issues, according to the publication.
A federal judge ruled in 2023 there wasn’t enough evidence that acetaminophen caused autism, the WSJ reported, adding that ruling has been appealed.
Ashley Keller, who represents families in litigation about Tylenol and autism, mentioned how new lawsuits could be brought as well.
“If there’s a call to action or a change in public-health guidelines, of course plaintiffs’ lawyers are going to take note of that and see if that influences their decision to represent clients harmed,” Keller told the WSJ.
Kenvue has stood firm in its belief that “independent, sound science clearly shows that taking acetaminophen does not cause autism,” according to a statement Monday that the WSJ shared. “We strongly disagree with any suggestion otherwise and are deeply concerned with the health risk this poses for expecting mothers.”
