In-vitro microbiological assessment of a new penem, Men 10700

The in-vitro antibacterial activity of Men 10700, a novel penem, has been compared with that of ritipenem, ciprofloxacin, amikacin, cefotaxime and co-amoxiclav against 539 strains taken from 17 genera. Men 10700 was most active against staphylococci and streptococci (MIC90 < 0.5 mg/L), slightly less active against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Enterobacter spp., Citrobacter spp., Moraxella catarrhalis and peptostreptococci (MIC90 0.5-2 mg/L), moderately active against Enterococcus faecalis, members of the tribe Proteae, Serratia marcescens, Acinetobacter spp., clostridia and Bacteroides spp. (MIC90 4-16 mg/L), and inactive against Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Enterococcus faecium. Its antibacterial spectrum is thus slightly less broad than that of imipenem, but it compares favourably with an oral third-generation cephalosporin. Men 10700 was more active than ritipenem against many species, especially Enterobacter spp. and Citrobacter spp.