How Trump and RFK Jr. are enabling anti-pharma lawsuits
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A lawsuit Texas filed Tuesday against the makers of Tylenol foreshadows a wave of legal warfare enabled by the Trump administration — and authorities fear it could eventually drive vaccine manufacturers out of the U.S.
Why it matters: It's not new for lawsuits to allege without solid proof that certain drugs do harm, but it is new when they cite the president and the country's top federal health official to make their case.
- But while President Trump and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. certainly have sway over public opinion, it may not extend to court proceedings that require evidence.
What they're saying: "I think any of [the] rhetoric that's not grounded in science is concerning," said Richard Hughes, a professor of vaccine law at George Washington University and a partner at Epstein, Becker & Green.
- "It lends itself to this environment where anyone who's litigious could be incentivized to go out and bring a suit."
- At the same time, Hughes added, "there's not going to be a point where evidence is going to be admitted that is the expert opinion of the president or the secretary. A judge just would not admit that."
Driving the news: Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton yesterday charged in a state court complaint that Johnson & Johnson and its spinoff Kenvue Brands deceptively marketed Tylenol knowing that its active ingredient increased the risk of autism and other disorders in unborn and young children.
- The lawsuit points to the Trump administration's recent actions tying Tylenol use during pregnancy to autism and ADHD as validation of its claim, declaring that "the reckoning has arrived."
- It specifically quotes Trump, Kennedy and Food and Drug Administration commissioner Marty Makary saying that a proposed safety label change addressing Tylenol use during pregnancy "was supported by ample scientific evidence."
- Paxton, a Republican, is currently running for the U.S. Senate, attempting to unseat incumbent Sen. John Cornyn in a primary.
Trump doubled down on his claims earlier this week.
- "Pregnant Women, DON'T USE TYLENOL UNLESS ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY, DON'T GIVE TYLENOL TO YOUR YOUNG CHILD FOR VIRTUALLY ANY REASON," the president wrote on Truth Social.
Yes, but: Mainstream scientists say there is no causal relationship between Tylenol use during pregnancy and neurodevelopmental disorders.
- In a news release initiating the label change, the FDA said as much, noting that while an association has been described in many studies, a direct link "has not been established and there are contrary studies in the scientific literature."
- Kenvue said in a statement responding to yesterday's lawsuit that "these claims lack legal merit and scientific support."
The big picture: Kennedy has championed the unsubstantiated claim that certain vaccines also cause autism, and he and his allies have railed against the liability protections that manufacturers are provided by U.S. law.
- Instead of suing companies directly, vaccine-injured people can receive compensation through a special government program designed decades ago, when litigation threatened to drive manufacturers from the U.S. market.
- Waiving or weakening the program's liability protections — which would require congressional action — would make personal injury lawsuits an existential threat to the U.S. vaccine market.
What we're watching: Even if Trump and Kennedy's rhetoric doesn't end up helping plaintiffs make their case in court, lawsuits like Texas' can still be damaging for pharmaceutical companies.
- "I just find it concerning that this is another suit that is going to attempt to extract more settlement dollars out of a company while creating this public impression that there is an issue with the product," Hughes said. "It just damages public confidence."
