DelPrete's Cramp911 Relieving Muscle Cramps Nationwide

What started as a way for Keith DelPrete, a compound pharmacist, to help customers with muscle cramps has evolved into a $2 million a year business based in North Whitehall.

The product is named Cramp911 and it’s a homeopathic solution dispensed much like a roll-on deodorant. It's made with copper and magnesium sulfates – which are known muscle-relaxing ingredients - and unlike topical analgesics, Cramp911 is absorbed under the skin to help relieve pain caused by muscle spasms or cramps in 15-20 seconds.

DelPrete, who owned and operated the recently closed DelPrete’s Pharmacy and Unique Gifts on Rte 309, realized the importance of his product in 1995 when prescription-strength pain relievers like Vioxx were taken off the market and his clients were left without relief.

“In 2005, almost ten years later there was enough interest and need so I decided to take the product to market,” DelPrete said. “In 2008, I started the online business and then in 2009, after an article appeared in the Morning Call, things went crazy and we sold over 300 units of each size that week.”

Today, Cramp911 is sold in 23 retail outlets nationwide, including Walgreens, RiteAid, Giant, Walmart, Weis and Shop Rite as well as 12 online stores including Amazon.com and Drugstore.com.

The active ingredients in Cramp911 are copper and magnesium sulfate because people who experience cramps typically have low levels of them, according to John Chaya, vice president of marketing at Cramp911.

“Most muscle relaxants are taken orally but Keith has been able to make it a solution,” Chaya said. “Unlike topical analgesics, Cramp911, can be used before bed, when copper and magnesium levels are known to deplete, and it is preventative.”

Although DelPrete originally developed Cramp911 to help older clients with chronic muscle pains, he has since discovered that younger people and athletes also benefit from its properties.

As a result Cramp911 has a list of celebrity athletes endorsing the product. Among them are Dre Kirkpatric, cornerback for the Cincinnati Bengals and Ryan Bedford, Olympic Speed Skater.

In addition to muscle cramps, Cramp911 has been used to treat pulled or tight muscles, fibromyalgia pain, multiple sclerosis spasms, toe cramps, hand cramps, back and neck spasms (headaches resulting from neck tension) and for muscle cramp prevention. It’s also used to lessen side effects from dialysis and chemotherapy.

The solution is labeled safe for ages 12 and up and is available in a 4.5 ml and 21.1ml bottle. There is also a brand-new delivery system to be used as a one-time-use saturated pad geared toward athletes so they can carry it in their pocket.

“When we look at the market and the number of people affected by cramps, then we look at the fact 10,000 people a day reach age 65, more and more people will be put in the arena where muscle cramps become something they have to deal with daily or weekly and we hope Cramp911 will become a staple in the medicine cabinet," Chaya said.