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The maker of Tylenol and a group of retailers and pharmacy operators asked a federal appeals court to revisit its decision to revive more than 500 private lawsuits over the painkiller\u2019s \u200balleged link to autism.<\/strong><\/p>\n In a filing on Thursday, the defendants including Tylenol maker Kenvue told \u200cthe 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan it should have deferred to a district judge\u2019s decision to exclude expert testimony from three doctors who linked Tylenol\u2019s use during pregnancy to autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children.<\/p>\n The defendants \u200bsaid that in reviving the lawsuits on July 13, the appeals court gave short shrift \u200bto a federal rule of evidence that makes district judges the \u201ctrue gatekeepers\u201d who decide \u2060whether evidence is reliable enough to be admitted at trial.<\/p>\n \u201cTreating plaintiffs\u2019 baseless theory as a jury question [is] \u200bexactly the sort of incorrect application of that rule,\u201d the defendants said. \u201cLay juries are not scientists and \u200bthus lack the specialized knowledge to resolve complex and unsettled scientific questions.\u201d<\/p>\n The plaintiffs include parents and guardians of children allegedly affected by Tylenol. Their lawyers did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday.<\/p>\n U.S. District Judge Denise Cote in \u200bManhattan had excluded testimony from Harvard public health dean Andrea Baccarelli; Eric Hollander, a psychiatry professor at \u200bthe Albert Einstein College of Medicine; and Brandon Pearson, a toxicologist formerly with Columbia University.<\/p>\n The defendants said if the appeals \u200ccourt \u2060doesn\u2019t reverse its decision, it should say the experts\u2019 opinions are not \u201ccategorically admissible\u201d and instruct Cote to revisit the issue.<\/p>\n Albertsons, Costco, CVS, Dollar General, Dollar Tree, Family Dollar, Kroger, Safeway, 7-Eleven, Target, Walgreens and Walmart are among the defendants.<\/p>\n The appeals court rarely reconsiders its own decisions.<\/p>\n Doctors and medical societies consider acetaminophen, the active \u200bingredient in Tylenol, the \u200bpreferred means to treat \u2060pain and fever during pregnancy.<\/p>\n There is no firm scientific evidence of a link between Tylenol and autism or ADHD. President Donald Trump and top U.S. health officials suggested \u200ba link to autism last September.<\/p>\n Kenvue is based in Summit, New Jersey, \u200band was spun \u2060off in 2023 by Johnson & Johnson.<\/p>\n For Kenvue and Johnson & Johnson Consumer: Elizabeth Prelogar at Cooley; Naomi Scotten, at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe; and Jessica Brennan at Barnes & Thornburg<\/p>\n For Albertsons and Safeway: Amanda Groves at Winston Taylor<\/p>\n For Costco, \u2060CVS and \u200bWalgreens: Kristen Richer at Barnes & Thornburg<\/p>\n For Dollar General: Anne Gruner \u200bat Duane Morris<\/p>\n For Dollar Tree, Family Dollar and 7-Eleven: Lori Leskin at Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer<\/p>\n For Kroger: Kristi Dean at Stone Dean<\/p>\n For \u200bTarget: Alexandra Avvocato at Morrison & Foerster<\/p>\n For Walmart: Kaspar Stoffelmayr at Bartlit Beck<\/p>\n<\/div>\n