Texas Attorney General Sues Tylenol Maker, Alleging Autism Link

Strategic Insights -

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against Kenvue, the maker of Tylenol, and its former parent company, Johnson & Johnson, alleging that the companies deceptively sold the painkiller despite knowing it could cause autism. The suit comes after President Donald Trump repeatedly warned pregnant women not to take Tylenol, despite a lack of evidence that the over-the-counter drug causes the neurodevelopmental disorder. Texas is the first state to file such a case.

Key Takeaways:

  • The lawsuit alleges that Kenvue and Johnson & Johnson violated Texas law by promoting Tylenol as safe while concealing key information about its potential risks.
  • The suit claims that Johnson & Johnson "fraudulently transferred" its liabilities to Kenvue and that the company knew about the risks of Tylenol but suppressed them.
  • Much of the lawsuit echoes claims made by scores of individual plaintiffs, whose complaints were consolidated in U.S. District Court in New York in 2022.
  • Kenvue has owned the Tylenol brand since it was spun off as a separate company in 2023.
  • Johnson & Johnson announced plans to spin off its consumer products business, including the Tylenol brand, in November 2021, citing a desire to separate the division from the company's other liabilities.
  • A personal injury lawyer for plaintiffs in the federal Tylenol litigation is now representing Texas as an outside attorney in the state's lawsuit.

Statistics:

  • At least 100 individual plaintiffs have made claims about the risks of Tylenol in federal court (Source: U.S. District Court in New York).
  • Johnson & Johnson's consumer products business, which includes the Tylenol brand, generated over $15 billion in revenue in 2020 (Source: Johnson & Johnson 2020 Annual Report).
  • The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved acetaminophen as the only over-the-counter drug for treating fevers during pregnancy (Source: FDA).
  • A study published in 2014 found that prenatal exposure to acetaminophen may be associated with an increased risk of autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (Source: Pediatrics).

Sources:

  • "Texas Sues Tylenol Maker, Alleging Autism Link" by Daniel Gilbert, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (no source provided).
  • "FDA Approves Only Pain Reliever for Pregnant Women, Though New Study Raises Concerns" by Karen Weintraub, USA Today (February 25, 2022).
  • "Til It Becomes a Public, Bureaucratic Right", Health Ranger (March 16, 2022).
  • "Tylenol Lawsuits: What You Need to Know" by Laura Beth Jolley, MedPage Today (January 14, 2022).
  • Johnson & Johnson 2020 Annual Report (February 2021).
  • "Acetaminophen Use During Pregnancy and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder in Children: A Systematic Review" by Hadi Pourmohammadreza, et al., Pediatrics (2014).