President Donald Trump warned pregnant women not to take Tylenol, citing an unproven link between the drug and rising autism rates.

Current medical guidelines say acetaminophen, the generic form of Tylenol, is safe to use, and decades of medical consensus indicate there is no single "cause" of autism, but rather multiple factors like genetics contribute. But Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has focused on finding a cause of rising autism rates, though the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention previously found the increase could be due to growing access to diagnostic tools.

“Don’t take Tylenol. Don’t have your baby take Tylenol,” Trump said at the Sept. 22 press conference. “Tylenol is fine for people that aren't pregnant, that are in the situation, but we are talking about one very specific situation.”

Tylenol's parent company Kenvue issued a statement saying independent scientific research shows that taking acetaminophen is "the safest pain reliever option for pregnant women as needed throughout their entire pregnancy."

“We believe independent, sound science clearly shows that taking acetaminophen does not cause autism," the statement said. "We strongly disagree with any suggestion otherwise and are deeply concerned with the health risk this poses for expecting mothers."

Here is what to know about the company that sells Tylenol:

Who owns Tylenol?

Tylenol is made by Kenvue, an American consumer health company spun off from Johnson & Johnson in 2023.

The company became publicly traded on May 4, 2023, under the ticker symbol "KVUE." The company's largest shareholders are both institutional investors, such as Vanguard Group and BlackRock, and individual ownerships, including executives and investors.

Kenvue is the maker of dozens of brands of consumer products such as Band-Aid, Neutrogena, Listerine, Aveeno, Lactaid, Mylanta, Zyrtec, Visine and Benadryl. The company offers an array of over-the-counter medications, skin and personal care products, baby care, wound care and other items.

Who leads Kenvue, Tylenol's parent company?

Kirk Perry was appointed interim CEO of Kenvue on July 14, 2025. Perry's LinkedIn shows he worked at Proctor & Gamble for more than 20 years and is on the board of directors at Chick-fil-A and the J.M. Smucker Co.

Perry replaced Thibaut Mongon, who stepped down as the company's chief executive and departed the board of directors amid an internal review of the company's operations. Mongon's LinkedIn shows he worked at Johnson & Johnson for more than 20 years prior to heading Kenvue.

What is autism?

Autism, also sometimes referred to as autism spectrum disorder, is a neurodevelopmental disorder that can result in difficulties with communication, sensory processing, social interactions and other areas of daily life.

The abilities and needs of someone with ASD can vary significantly, according to the CDC.

Contributing: Mary Walrath-Holdridge, Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, Zac Anderson and Adrianna Rodriguez, USA TODAY Network

Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Who owns Tylenol? What to know after Trump’s acetaminophen-autism announcement

Reporting by Kinsey Crowley and Lori Comstock, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

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