Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is requesting that the court block Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue from deceptive advertising of Tylenol in Texas.
Tylenol’s current and former manufacturer intentionally withheld evidence of a link between the drug and autism, a new lawsuit alleges.
“Defendants had the authority and the duty to change the warning labels of Tylenol products based on the significant scientific evidence, but chose not to,” stated the suit, filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in a court in Texas on Oct. 28.
Some studies have found that babies born to women who took Tylenol or another form of acetaminophen have a higher risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). That includes a 2019 study published by JAMA Psychiatry.
That and other papers meant pregnant women should be cautioned against indiscriminately using acetaminophen, more than 90 researchers said in a 2021 statement.
Johnson & Johnson, which for decades manufactured Tylenol, decided against warning consumers and instead promoted Tylenol as safe, including by pointing to a website called BabyCenter that it actually owned, the suit stated.
In 2022, Johnson & Johnson spun off the manufacturing unit into a new company, Kenvue.
“This was designed to shield Johnson & Johnson’s assets from claimants who successfully sue because children develop ASD and/or ADHD after their mothers ingested Tylenol during pregnancy,” Paxton said in the suit.
Oral arguments in an appeal in one of the cases are scheduled for November.
The current label for Tylenol does not contain any warnings about autism or ADHD, although federal officials recently said they would be updating the label and told doctors that there is evidence indicating there may be a link.
Johnson & Johnson did not respond to a request for comment regarding the litigation.
A top Johnson & Johnson scientist said in an internal email in 2018, obtained by The Epoch Times—concerning more research about a possible association between Tylenol and neurodevelopmental issues—that “the weight of evidence is starting to feel heavy to me.”
“We will vigorously defend ourselves against these claims and respond per the legal process. We stand firmly with the global medical community that acknowledges the safety of acetaminophen and believe we will continue to be successful in litigation as these claims lack legal merit and scientific support,” a spokesperson for Kenvue told The Epoch Times in an email.
“We also encourage expecting mothers to speak to their health professional before taking any over-the-counter medication, including acetaminophen, as indicated on our product label for Tylenol.”
