Meropenem NEW

Product Details

Meropenem is a new carbapenem antibiotic introduced to market for the i.v. treatment of a wide variety of hospital infections such as lower respiratory tract, urinary tract, intraabdominal, gynecological and polymicrobial infections. Meropenem has a broad spectrum of antibacterial activity against most clinically important Gram-positive and Gramnegative aerobic and anaerobic bacteria with especially high potency against multiresistant Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudornonas aeruginosa. Compared with imipenem, the only other available carbapenem antibiotic, meropenem has the advantage of being dehydropeptidase 1 (DHP-1) stable and therefore does not need to be administered in conjunction with the DHP-1 inhibitor cilastatin. Meropenem is also being evaluated for treatment of resistant pseudomonal infections in cystic fibrosis patients.

Application&Function

Meropenem is a broad-spectrumantibiotic used to treat a variety of bacterial infections. Some of these include meningitis, intra-abdominal infection, pneumonia, sepsis, and anthrax. It is given by injection into a vein. The spectrum of action includes many Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria (including Pseudomonas) and anaerobic bacteria. The overall spectrum is similar to that of imipenem, although meropenem is more active against Enterobacteriaceae and less active against Gram-positive bacteria. It works against extended-spectrum β-lactamases, but may be more susceptible to metallo-β-lactamases. Meropenem is frequently given in the treatment of febrile neutropenia. This condition frequently occurs in patients with hematological malignancies and cancer patients receiving anticancer drugs that suppress bone marrow formation. It is approved for complicated skin and skin structure infections, complicated intra-abdominal infections and bacterial meningitis.