Kenny Kramm
{{short description|American entrepreneur (1961-2016)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Kenny Kramm
| image =
| caption =
| birth_name = Kenneth Lee Kramm
| birth_date = {{birth date|1961|6|16}}
| birth_place = Washington, D.C., U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|2016|7|12|1961|6|16}}
| death_place = Washington, D.C., U.S.
| alma_mater = University of Maryland (1984)
| occupation = Entrepreneur
| spouse = {{marriage|Shelley Neiss|1985|2016}}
| children = 2
| known_for = Flavoring medicines
}}
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.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2016/07/15/kenneth-kramm-pharmacist-who-took-the-yuck-out-of-medicine--obit/|title=Kenneth Kramm, pharmacist who 'took the yuck out of medicine' – obituary|date=15 July 2016|work=The Telegraph}}{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/kenny-kramm-creator-of-flavorings-to-make-the-medicine-go-down-for-kids-dies-at-55/2016/07/13/65b61d72-4905-11e6-90a8-fb84201e0645_story.html|title=Kenny Kramm, creator of flavorings to make the medicine go down for kids, dies at 55 |last1=Langer |first1=Emily |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=July 13, 2016}}{{cite web|url=http://www.pressherald.com/2016/07/13/kenny-kramm-developer-of-flavored-additives-for-prescriptions-dies-at-55/|title=Kenny Kramm, developer of flavored additives for prescriptions, dies at 55 - The Portland Press Herald / Maine Sunday Telegram|date=14 July 2016|publisher=}}
Kramm was born in Washington, D.C. and grew up in Potomac, Maryland. He graduated from the University of Maryland 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 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 needed to prevent grand mal seizures, 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.{{cite web|url=http://www.inc.com/magazine/20030601/25521.html|title=The Heart of a Company|last=Buchanan|first=Leigh|date=June 1, 2003|website=Inc.com|accessdate=July 17, 2016}}
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 in 2016, after contracting an infection.
References
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Category:20th-century American businesspeople
Category:Businesspeople from Maryland
Category:Businesspeople from Washington, D.C.
Category:Deaths from sepsis in the United States
Category:People from Potomac, Maryland
Category:Pharmacists from Washington, D.C.