AkPharma Inc. is the marketer of the OTC dietary supplement, Prelief®. Over the years AkPharma and its predecessor companies introduced the first name brand low sugar ice cream, SugarLo®, the first lactose-reduced line of dairy products, Lactaid®, and the famous tablets that let you eat beans and vegetables without distress, Beano®.

Lactaid was sold to Johnson & Johnson in 1991 and is the world leader in the lactase enzyme modification of milk, milk products and lactose-content foods and drugs. Some 12 million 8-oz. servings of dairy-treated Lactaid milk are now consumed in the U.S. per week in addition to Lactaid’s OTC tablet sales. In 1990, Mr. Kligerman invented Beano, an enzyme-based product for better digestion of numerous vegetables. Beano was developed after investigation into gas-causing vegetables that began in 1981 with input from a number of academic sources as well as the Agricultural Research Service of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The alpha galactosidase enzyme isolated as a result of this research is now the largest product of its kind and is sold under its light-hearted brand name, Beano. Like Lactaid, it is a staple in the antacid and anti-flatulent departments of drug and food markets throughout the United States and elsewhere in the world. The Beano brand was acquired from AkPharma by Block Drug Company, now part of GlaxoSmithKline, in 1997.

In 1995 Mr. Kligerman discovered the unique uses of calcium glycerophosphate as a food de-acidifier. This discovery was remarkable since with few exceptions, food-grade phosphates are known to acidify substances, not de-acidify. The product was introduced in 1996 under the Prelief brand and it is now marketed as a non-drug answer to the discomfort caused by high-acid foods and beverages. The product has found special use in the diets of persons with food acid aggravated conditions. The first U.S. patent for Prelief as a food acid neutralizer issued in 1998; further patents have issued since then in the U.S. and worldwide.

AkPharma has also been involved in the research, support and licensing of various medical patents in cooperation with major medical institutions in the U.S.
AkPharma Inc. has an office and production facility in Egg Harbor Township (Pleasantville), New Jersey. AkPharma is highly active in charitable and pro bono activities on a wide scale in the U.S. and foreign countries, including Russia and Central America.