Tylenol Maker Lacks Texas Business Registration, Judge Says (1)

Tylenol-maker Kenvue Inc. must comply with a Texas law requiring out-of-state businesses to register with the state or risk being barred from conducting business in Texas, a judge ruled.

State District Judge Gordon Green granted a request from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton to issue a temporary order directing the company and its former parent Johnson & Johnsonto register with the Texas Secretary of State, which oversees all business registrations.

Green said the court will hold a hearing on Dec. 15 to determine whether an additional order limiting the companies’ activities in the state is necessary.

“Johnson & Johnson divested its consumer health business years ago, and all rights and liabilities associated with the sale of its over-the-counter products, including Tylenol (acetaminophen), are owned by Kenvue,” a J&J spokesperson said in an emailed statement.

Representatives of Kenvue did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Kimberly-Clark Corp. announced Nov. 3 it would buy Kenvue for roughly $40 billion, but the company isn’t named in the lawsuit.

The Friday order was handed down in one of two lawsuits Paxton has filed against Kenvue and J&J. In October, Paxton claimed the companies concealed the risks of autism and other disorders for children if mothers take Tylenol during pregnancy. In mid-November, a judge declined to immediately block Kenvue from marketing Tylenol as safe for pregnant women.

In another suit filed last week, Paxton claims that J&J allowed its registration with the Texas Secretary of State to lapse and Kenvue never registered with the state.

Paxton hailed the order as a “major win.”

“I will not allow Big Pharma to operate above the law or put their greed ahead of Texans’ well-being,” Paxton said in a statement.

The case is Texas v. Johnson & Johnson, 10665, Bailey County District Court (287th District).

(Updates with J&J comment in fourth paragraph.)

To contact the reporter on this story:
Madlin Mekelburg in Austin at mmekelburg@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story:
Misyrlena Egkolfopoulou at megkolfopoul@bloomberg.net

Peter Blumberg, Steve Stroth

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