Headaches continue for Tylenol brand as Texas AG files lawsuit over alleged autism link

A little more than a month after President Donald Trump and Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced an official statement suggesting a link between Tylenol and autism, drug manufacturers are facing some heat.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Johnson & Johnson and Kenvue for allegedly concealing the link between prenatal use of acetaminophen and autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Acetaminophen is the active ingredient in Tylenol.

'By holding Big Pharma accountable for poisoning our people, we will help Make America Healthy Again.'

Dated October 27, the lawsuit lodges two main complaints against Johnson & Johnson and its subsidiaries Kenvue Inc. and Kenvue Brands LLC.

First, the lawsuit alleges that "defendants have paid no heed to the scientific facts" by downplaying or concealing the known link between acetaminophen and ADS and ADHD. If the defendants had been more forthcoming on their labels, pregnant mothers may have chosen to avoid the drug, the lawsuit posits.

RELATED: Trump administration claims link between autism and Tylenol, greenlights remedy

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It cites 26 epidemiological studies that showed "positive associations" between prenatal use of acetaminophen and ASD and ADHD. Other studies showed a dose-response relationship, according to the lawsuit.

The second part of the lawsuit alleges that Johnson & Johnson, aware of the legal risk of its product, attempted to "shed its liability" by transferring its liabilities associated with Tylenol to Kenvue without transferring the necessary assets to the subsidiary company.

Asked about the lawsuit, a Johnson & Johnson spokesperson told Blaze News, “Johnson & Johnson divested its consumer health business years ago, and all rights and liabilities associated with the sale of its over-the-counter products, including Tylenol (acetaminophen), are owned by Kenvue.”

“Big Pharma betrayed America by profiting off of pain and pushing pills regardless of the risks. These corporations lied for decades, knowingly endangering millions to line their pockets,” Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said in a news release. “Additionally, seeing that the day of reckoning was coming, Johnson & Johnson attempted to escape responsibility by illegally offloading their liability onto a different company. By holding Big Pharma accountable for poisoning our people, we will help Make America Healthy Again.”

On its website, Kenvue issued the following statement regarding the supposed link between acetaminophen and autism: "Nothing is more important to us than the health and safety of the people who use our products. We believe independent, sound science clearly shows that taking acetaminophen does not cause autism. We strongly disagree with allegations that it does and are deeply concerned about the health risks and confusion this poses for expecting mothers and parents."

"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 Kenvue spokesperson told Blaze News.

Blaze News contacted Attorney General Ken Paxton's office for comment but did not receive a response.

Editor's note: This article was edited after publication to include a comment from Kenvue.

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