Meropenem is an ultra-broad-spectrum injectable antibiotic used to treat a wide variety of infections. It is a β-lactam and belongs to the subgroup of carbapenem, similar to imipenem and ertapenem. Meropenem was originally developed by Dainippon Sumitomo Pharma.
It gained US FDA approval in July 1996. It penetrates well into many tissues and body fluids, including cerebrospinal fluid, bile, heart valve, lung, and peritoneal fluid.
It was initially marketed by AstraZeneca under the trade name Merrem, and is now available in many countries as a generic.
For a superficial wound infection start the patient empirically on vancomycin plus cefepime or meropenem