Meropenem
Meropenem, sold under the brand name Merrem among others, is an intravenous carbapenem antibiotic used to treat a variety of bacterial infections. Some of these include meningitis, intra-abdominal infection, pneumonia, sepsis, and anthrax.
| Clinical data | |
|---|---|
| Trade names | Merrem, others |
| AHFS/Drugs.com | Monograph |
| License data | |
| Pregnancy category |
|
| Routes of administration | Intravenous |
| ATC code | |
| Legal status | |
| Legal status | |
| Pharmacokinetic data | |
| Bioavailability | 100% |
| Protein binding | Approximately 2% |
| Elimination half-life | 1 hour |
| Excretion | Kidney |
| Identifiers | |
| |
| CAS Number | |
| PubChem CID | |
| DrugBank | |
| ChemSpider | |
| UNII | |
| KEGG | |
| ChEBI | |
| ChEMBL | |
| PDB ligand | |
| CompTox Dashboard (EPA) | |
| ECHA InfoCard | 100.169.299 |
| Chemical and physical data | |
| Formula | C17H25N3O5S |
| Molar mass | 383.46 g·mol−1 |
| 3D model (JSmol) | |
| |
| |
| (verify) | |
Common side effects include nausea, diarrhea, constipation, headache, rash, and pain at the site of injection. Serious side effects include Clostridioides difficile infection, seizures, and allergic reactions including anaphylaxis. Those who are allergic to other β-lactam antibiotics are more likely to be allergic to meropenem as well. Use in pregnancy appears to be safe. It is in the carbapenem family of medications. Meropenem usually results in bacterial death through blocking their ability to make a cell wall. It is more resistant to breakdown by β-lactamase producing bacteria.
Meropenem was patented in 1983. It was approved for medical use in the United States in 1996. It is on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines. The World Health Organization classifies meropenem as critically important for human medicine.