In meeting with RFK Jr., CEO of Tylenol maker stresses there is no clear link between medication and autism, WSJ reports
Drugmaker Kenvue recommended that expecting mothers speak to their health care provider before taking any over-the-counter medications
By Jacqueline Howard, Deidre McPhillips, CNN
(CNN) — The interim CEO and director of drugmaker Kenvue, which makes the common pain reliever Tylenol, met with US Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. privately this week in an attempt to dissuade him from including the drug as a potential cause of autism in an upcoming report, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday.
HHS officials have announced that the department is conducting a study of the causes of autism, and recent reports suggest that HHS will issue an analysis that links the development of autism to the mother’s use of Tylenol during pregnancy, among other potential causes. The report is expected to be released this month.
Tylenol is a brand name for the pain reliever acetaminophen.
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has said that there is no proof of a causal link between Tylenol use in pregnancy and a child’s diagnosis of autism.
In a statement Friday, a spokesperson for HHS said that officials routinely meet with stakeholders for their perspectives.
“We are using gold-standard science to get to the bottom of America’s unprecedented rise in autism rates. HHS officials regularly meet with stakeholders to get their perspective about our agenda to Make America Healthy Again. Any claims regarding this or any other specific meeting, however, are nothing more than speculation unless officially discussed by HHS,” HHS spokesperson Andrew Nixon said.
Kenvue said in its own statement Friday that it engaged in a “scientific exchange” with HHS officials but that it is concerned about the forthcoming HHS report potentially causing confusion.
“As we would with any regulator who reaches out to us, we engaged in a scientific exchange with the Secretary and members of his staff as it relates to the safety of our products. Our position remains the same: in evaluating available science, we continue to believe that taking acetaminophen does not cause autism, and global health regulators, independent public health organizations, and medical professionals agree,” Kenvue said.
“We are concerned about the potential for consumer confusion and misinformation about the safety of taking acetaminophen during pregnancy, particularly as cough, cold and flu season approaches,” the statement said. “We encourage regulators to continue to objectively review the scientific evidence on this issue, as they have done for many years. FDA has been looking at this issue for over a decade and has conducted multiple reviews since 2014 and continues to recommend acetaminophen in pregnancy and maintain the same labeling requirements.”
The company also recommended that expecting mothers speak to their health care provider before taking any over-the-counter medications, including acetaminophen, which is also indicated on the product label.
Tylenol is widely used in the US, including during pregnancy. The US Food and Drug Administration recommends against using other common pain relievers, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, in pregnancy at 20 weeks or later because they can result in low amniotic fluid.
“There is no clear evidence that proves a direct relationship between the prudent use of acetaminophen during pregnancy and fetal developmental issues,” Dr. Christopher Zahn, chief of clinical practice for the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said in a statement this month. “Neurodevelopmental disorders, in particular, are multifactorial and very difficult to associate with a singular cause. Pregnant patients should not be frightened away from the many benefits of acetaminophen, which is safe and one of the few options pregnant people have for pain relief.”
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