Kenneth Lee Kramm (June 16, 1961 – July 12, 2016) was an American entrepreneur who founded FLAVORx and its system of adding flavoring to otherwise unpalatable medicines to make them easier to take. Kramm was born in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

and grew up in

Potomac, Maryland Potomac () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States, named after the nearby Potomac River. Potomac is the seventh most educated small town in America, based on percentage of residents with postsecondary deg ...

. He graduated from the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

in 1984 with a degree in advertising design and became an art director for an agency. After developing a dislike for that career in 1992, he joined his father's pharmacy firm in Washington as a business manager.

Flavored medicine

Kramm's youngest daughter began suffering

epileptic seizures An epileptic seizure, informally known as a seizure, is a period of symptoms due to abnormally excessive or synchronous neuronal activity in the brain. Outward effects vary from uncontrolled shaking movements involving much of the body with los ...

weeks after her birth in February 1992. Once she was able to be released from the hospital, she balked at the multiple daily doses of

phenobarbital Phenobarbital, also known as phenobarbitone or phenobarb, sold under the brand name Luminal among others, is a medication of the barbiturate type. It is recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) for the treatment of certain types of ep ...

needed to prevent

grand mal seizures Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor * Grand Mixer DXT, American turntablist * Grand Puba (born 1966), American rapper Places * Grand, Oklahoma * Grand, Vosges, village and commu ...

, by either refusing to take the ill-tasting medicine or holding it in her mouth until it leaked out. Her seizures continued, resulting in more hospital trips. Within a few months, Kramm and his wife Shelley decided something must be done. In May 1992, Kramm's father, Harold, suggested sweetening the medicine with flavorings used by candy manufacturers. The men spent their evenings, after store hours, tasting different samples. Kramm then took home the flavored medicine that he hoped his daughter would approve. She ultimately picked one and resumed her proper dosage. Parents from the nearby children's hospital heard about the flavoring, and FLAVORx went into business.

Death

Kramm died from

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

in 2016, after contracting an infection.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kramm, Kenny 1961 births 2016 deaths 20th-century American businesspeople Businesspeople from Maryland Businesspeople from Washington, D.C. Deaths from sepsis People from Potomac, Maryland Pharmacists from Washington, D.C. University of Maryland, College Park alumni