(Updates with response from the Department of Health and Human Services in the fifth and sixth paragraphs)

Kenvue's (KVUE) interim chief executive Kirk Perry had a private meeting with Robert F Kennedy Jr. to dissuade the Secretary of Health and Human Services from citing Tylenol as a potential cause for autism, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing a person familiar with the matter.

The Journal reported last week that Kennedy plans to point at acetaminophen, the active ingredient in Tylenol, taken by pregnant women, as a potential cause of autism in their children, among other reasons.

The report is expected from the Department of Health and Human Services later this month, the report said.

"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, according to the WSJ.

A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services said they are using "gold standard science" to investigate the rise in autism cases in the country.

"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," they said.

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