FDA-filed SPL labeling · retrieved through openFDA

Meropenem

Meropenem is a broad-spectrum intravenous antibiotic used to treat serious bacterial infections including complicated skin and skin structure infections, complicated intra-abdominal infections, and bacterial meningitis.

Brand name Merrem
Drug class ⓘ Penem Antibacterial
Rx Form 1 Route Intravenous
Dr. Brian Staiger, PharmD, BCPS
Reviewed by Last reviewed Jul 10, 2026
🧬 Where this information comes from Click to expand

The clinical label records used on this page are FDA-filed Structured Product Labeling (SPL) retrieved through openFDA. We identified 23 clinical label sets within the page’s selected clinical scope after exact ingredient or ingredient-combination matching and applicable route/form matching. Forms, routes, brands, labelers, strengths, and NDC product-record counts are built separately from matching FDA National Drug Code Directory records. The linked DailyMed document is a representative official source for verification, not the page’s only clinical source. View the linked label on DailyMed →

At a glance
Linked label effectiveSep 8, 2026
Clinical labels in scope ⓘ23
AvailabilityRx
Earliest approval/marketing year ⓘ1996
FDA-listed product records ⓘ106
Boxed warningNone found in compared labels
How we combine label and product data →
✓No current FDA shortage listed · checked Sep 20, 2026
Other forms & routes:
Injection
⭐ Meropenem at a glance The quick version — the full detail is in the Patient Information Guide below.
💊
HelloPharmacist Editorial Team Bottom Line
Meropenem is a powerful IV-only antibiotic reserved for serious bacterial infections — skin infections, abdominal infections, and bacterial meningitis in children. It's given in a hospital or clinical setting, and the dose is carefully adjusted based on kidney function. The most important things to watch for are allergic reactions, seizures (especially if you take valproic acid), and severe diarrhea that could signal a C. difficile infection.
How we write & review this content — our editorial policy →

📖 Meropenem: Patient Information Guide

A plain-language walkthrough of Meropenem — what it treats, how it works, how it’s taken, side effects, warnings and interactions. Tap any section to expand it.

🎯What it's used for▾

Meropenem for injection is a broad-spectrum IV antibiotic approved for several serious bacterial infections across different patient populations.

  • Complicated skin and skin structure infections: Approved for adults and pediatric patients 3 months of age and older — caused by specific bacteria including Staphylococcus aureus (methicillin-susceptible strains only), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, E. coli, and others
  • Complicated intra-abdominal infections (including complicated appendicitis and peritonitis): Approved for adults and pediatric patients of all ages, including infants less than 3 months old
  • Bacterial meningitis: Approved for pediatric patients 3 months of age and older only — caused by Haemophilus influenzae, Neisseria meningitidis, and penicillin-susceptible Streptococcus pneumoniae
⚙️How it works▾

Meropenem is a carbapenem antibiotic that kills bacteria by blocking their ability to build and maintain their outer cell wall. Bacteria need an intact cell wall to survive — without it, they break down and die. Because meropenem works against a wide variety of both gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria, it's reserved for serious infections where broad coverage is needed.

How well meropenem works is closely tied to how long its concentration in the blood stays above the minimum level needed to inhibit the target bacteria. This is why dosing intervals and infusion timing matter clinically.

💊How it's taken▾

Meropenem is given only by intravenous (IV) infusion or bolus injection — never by mouth. It is typically administered every 8 hours, though the exact interval and amount depend on the type of infection, the patient's age, and kidney function. Adults with reduced kidney function (creatinine clearance of 50 mL/min or less) require dose adjustments. In young infants, dosing intervals are based on gestational age and postnatal age.

  • IV infusions are generally given over 15 to 30 minutes; certain doses may also be given as a short bolus over 3 to 5 minutes
  • For infants under 3 months, infusions are given over 30 minutes
  • Because this is a hospital IV medication, a healthcare provider manages each dose — follow the schedule your care team sets
🤒Side effects — in detail▾

The most commonly reported side effects with meropenem include:

  • Diarrhea
  • Nausea and vomiting
  • Headache
  • Rash or itching
  • Constipation
  • Injection site reactions — redness, pain, or inflammation where the IV is placed
  • Anemia (low red blood cell count)

Serious reactions to watch for include severe allergic reactions (difficulty breathing, swelling, hives), blistering or peeling skin rashes, muscle breakdown (rhabdomyolysis), seizures, and severe or persistent diarrhea that could signal a C. difficile infection. Get medical help right away if any of these occur.

⚠️Warnings & precautions▾
  • Severe allergic reactions: Life-threatening anaphylaxis has occurred with this class of drugs. People with penicillin or other beta-lactam allergies are at higher risk. Meropenem must be stopped immediately if an allergic reaction occurs.
  • Serious skin reactions: Rare but potentially fatal skin conditions — including Stevens-Johnson syndrome and toxic epidermal necrolysis — have been reported. Stop meropenem immediately if blistering or severe rash appears.
  • Seizure risk: Seizures are more likely in patients with brain conditions, a history of seizures, or kidney impairment. Patients already on anti-seizure medications should continue them during treatment.
  • Valproic acid interaction: Meropenem can dramatically lower blood levels of valproic acid (used for seizures), potentially causing breakthrough seizures. This combination is generally not recommended.
  • C. difficile-associated diarrhea: Like all antibiotics, meropenem can disrupt gut bacteria and allow C. difficile to overgrow, causing diarrhea that can range from mild to life-threatening colitis.
  • Rhabdomyolysis: Rare reports of muscle breakdown — watch for muscle pain, weakness, or dark urine and report immediately.
  • Thrombocytopenia: Low platelet counts have been observed in patients with kidney impairment.
🔀What it interacts with▾

Meropenem has two clinically important drug interactions identified in the label:

  • Probenecid (used for gout or certain kidney conditions): Blocks the kidneys from clearing meropenem normally, raising meropenem levels in the blood. Co-administration is not recommended.
  • Valproic acid or divalproex sodium (seizure medications): Meropenem significantly reduces blood levels of these drugs, which can cause previously controlled seizures to return. Alternative antibiotics should be used when possible. If meropenem is necessary, additional seizure precautions should be taken.

This is not a complete list of interactions. Always talk with your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping, or changing any medication.

📋Before taking it▾
  • Tell your doctor if you have ever had a severe allergic reaction — especially to penicillin, cephalosporins, or any other antibiotic — before starting meropenem
  • Tell your doctor about any history of seizures or brain conditions — meropenem can increase seizure risk in these patients
  • Tell your doctor if you take valproic acid or divalproex sodium for seizures — meropenem can dangerously lower those drug levels
  • Tell your doctor if you have kidney disease — the dose must be reduced when kidney function is impaired
  • Older adults are more likely to have reduced kidney function and may need dose adjustments and closer monitoring
  • If you are pregnant, the risks are not fully known in humans — discuss the benefits and risks with your doctor
  • Meropenem passes into breast milk — talk with your doctor about the risks to a nursing infant before breastfeeding
  • Meropenem is established as safe and effective in children 3 months and older for skin and meningitis uses, and in children of all ages for intra-abdominal infections
🚑If you take too much▾

An accidental overdose is most likely to happen in patients with poor kidney function who receive too large a dose. In such cases, any side effects that occur are generally consistent with the known side effect profile and tend to be mild. Meropenem and its breakdown product can be removed from the body by hemodialysis (dialysis), though dialysis specifically to treat overdose has not been studied.

📡Pharmacodynamics — effects in the body▾

Meropenem's effectiveness is most closely tied to how long its concentration in the blood stays above the minimum level needed to stop the target bacteria from growing — a concept called time-dependent killing. Maintaining adequate drug exposure throughout each dosing interval is key to the antibiotic working properly. This is why careful attention to dosing frequency and infusion timing is important in clinical practice.

🔬Pharmacokinetics — how your body processes it▾

After an IV dose, meropenem spreads quickly and widely into body tissues and fluids — including the lungs, skin, peritoneal fluid, and, in inflamed meninges, the cerebrospinal fluid (fluid around the brain and spinal cord). It binds very little to proteins in the blood (about 2%), meaning most of the drug is free and active. Meropenem has a short half-life of about 1 hour in adults with normal kidney function, so it clears the body relatively quickly. About 70% of the dose is excreted unchanged through the kidneys within 12 hours, making kidney function a critical factor in dosing — people with reduced kidney function clear the drug more slowly and need lower or less frequent doses.

📦How to store it▾

stored at 20°–25°C (68°–77°F) .

📄 Written from Meropenem’s FDA-approved label information, summarized in plain language with AI, and reviewed by our pharmacy team before publication. Every point is grounded in that labeling — nothing is invented. How we use AI →

🩺 Pharmacist Counseling Corner

Quick, plain-English answers to the questions patients ask most about Meropenem — the kind of thing our pharmacy team would talk through with you at the counter.

Why am I getting meropenem instead of a regular antibiotic pill? ▾
Meropenem is reserved for serious, hard-to-treat bacterial infections where a strong, broad-coverage antibiotic is needed fast. It can only be given by IV because it isn't absorbed when taken by mouth. If you're receiving it, your care team has determined that the infection you have requires this level of treatment — it's one of the more powerful antibiotics available.
What side effects should I actually watch out for? ▾
The most common ones — diarrhea, nausea, headache, and some redness or discomfort at your IV site — are generally manageable. What's more important to report right away: any trouble breathing, swelling, or hives (signs of an allergic reaction); severe or blistering skin rash; muscle pain or weakness with dark urine; new or worsening seizures; or diarrhea that gets severe or bloody, which could be a gut infection called C. difficile.
I take valproic acid for my seizures — is that a problem with meropenem? ▾
Yes, this is a real concern. Meropenem can significantly lower your valproic acid levels in the blood, which might cause your seizures to come back even if they were well controlled. Your doctor will weigh whether a different antibiotic can be used instead. If meropenem is truly necessary, your team will likely put extra precautions in place. Make sure your prescriber knows you're on valproic acid before treatment starts.
I'm allergic to penicillin — is it safe for me to get meropenem? ▾
It's very important to tell your care team about your penicillin allergy before you receive meropenem. Both belong to a class called beta-lactam antibiotics, and people with a history of severe penicillin reactions can sometimes react to meropenem too. Your doctor will assess the type and severity of your allergy and make the safest call. Don't assume it's fine just because they're different drugs.
My kidneys aren't working great — does that affect how I get this medication? ▾
Yes, and your team should already be accounting for that. Meropenem is cleared mainly by the kidneys, so if yours aren't working at full capacity, the drug can build up in your body. Your prescriber will adjust your dose or how often you get it based on a measure of your kidney function called creatinine clearance. This is routine — just make sure your kidney function is being monitored during treatment.
Can I breastfeed while receiving meropenem? ▾
Meropenem does pass into breast milk, but there isn't enough data yet to know exactly what effect, if any, it has on a nursing baby. This is a conversation to have with your doctor — they'll weigh how critical this treatment is for you against any potential risk to your infant. Don't stop breastfeeding without talking to your care team first.
Is Meropenem available over the counter? ▾
Meropenem is dispensed by prescription according to its FDA labeling, so it isn't sold over the counter. Your prescriber and pharmacist will determine if it's appropriate for you.
When was Meropenem first available? ▾
Meropenem has been available in the United States since at least 1996, based on FDA approval history (Drugs@FDA) and product marketing records.
Who makes Meropenem? ▾
Meropenem is supplied by 23 manufacturers listed in the FDA NDC Directory, including WG Critical Care, LLC, Hospira, Inc., Brooks Steriscience Limited.

💬 Answers drafted from Meropenem’s FDA-approved label information, summarized in plain language with AI, and reviewed by our pharmacy team before publication. Grounded in that labeling — nothing is made up. How we use AI →

🧰 Keep exploring

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💊 How Meropenem comes

Meropenem is available in 1 form. Different forms and brands can have different approved uses, doses, schedules, and directions. Follow the instructions for your exact product, and do not switch forms without guidance from your prescriber or pharmacist.

Injection

Into a vein
Brands Merrem
How this form is used
What it may be used for
  • Treats complicated skin and skin structure infections in adults and children 3 months of age and older
  • Treats complicated intra-abdominal infections (including appendicitis and peritonitis) in adults and children of all ages
  • Treats bacterial meningitis in children 3 months of age and older
Important instructions
  • Given by intravenous (IV) infusion over approximately 15 to 30 minutes, or as an IV bolus injection over 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the dose and indication
  • Typically administered every 8 hours, though frequency may change based on infection type and kidney function
  • Dose must be reduced in adult patients with reduced kidney function (creatinine clearance 50 mL/min or less)
  • For infants less than 3 months of age with intra-abdominal infections, the IV infusion is given over 30 minutes; dosing interval varies by gestational and postnatal age
Available strengths 7 strengths
500 mg 500 mg/10 mL 500 mg/20 mL 1 g 1 g/20 mL 1 g/30 mL
Show 1 more strength Show fewer strengths
2 g
103 FDA-listed product records ⓘ

📊 Meropenem across the U.S. market

How Meropenem appears in the FDA’s National Drug Code Directory — including its dosage forms, strengths, brand names, manufacturers, and FDA-listed product records. These are directory records, not sales or prescription volume.

1
Dose forms ⓘ
23
Manufacturers
2
Brand names
106
FDA-listed product records ⓘ
1996
First marketed ⓘ

Also listed with the FDA, not a patient dose form: Powder (3) — bulk drug substance sold to compounders/manufacturers and multi-item kits. These aren’t counted in the dose-form total above.

WG Critical Care, LLC15%
Hospira, Inc.9%
Brooks Steriscience Limited7%
Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC6%
Xellia Pharmaceuticals USA LLC6%
Sandoz Inc6%
Other makers52%

Share of FDA-listed product records by manufacturer — FDA National Drug Code Directory. Record counts are not sales or prescription volume.

📈 How widely Meropenem is used

A general measure of how commonly Meropenem is prescribed, based on Medicaid — one of the largest public drug programs. The figure below is prescriptions filled in Q1–Q4 2025, summed across every form and brand of the drug.

Think of this as a proxy for how widely Meropenem is used, drawn from freely available public data. Medicaid is just one program — these numbers don’t include Medicare, other government coverage, or commercial and cash-pay prescriptions, so real-world use is higher than what’s shown here.

31,115
Medicaid prescriptions filled (Q1–Q4 2025)
$3.7M gross Medicaid reimbursement (before mandatory rebates — net cost is lower)

How commonly is Meropenem prescribed? Of the 1,596 medications we measure, Meropenem ranks #733 by Medicaid prescriptions — more than 54% of them.

Where Meropenem ranks among the drugs we measure · Q1–Q4 2025 · neighbors ±5
Total prescriptions — #733 of 1,596
#728 Iloperidone 31,677 Rx #729 Tapinarof Topical 31,509 Rx #730 Halcinonide Topical 31,482 Rx #731 Tazarotene Topical 31,374 Rx #732 Atovaquone and Proguan... 31,273 Rx #733 Meropenem Injection 31,115 Rx #734 Meropenem 31,115 Rx #735 Triazolam 30,954 Rx #736 Chlorzoxazone 30,247 Rx #737 Fluorouracil Topical 30,176 Rx #738 Febuxostat 30,153 Rx

Utilization by Meropenem product

Pick a product to see its own Medicaid numbers. Each chip is one clinical product — a specific strength & dosage form as defined by RxNorm — with brand-name and generic versions combined.

The 1000 mg injection is the most-dispensed Meropenem product — about 89% of these Medicaid prescriptions.

meropenem 1000 MG Injection Most dispensed

27,671 Medicaid prescriptions (Q1–Q4 2025) 89% of Meropenem prescriptions shown $3.3M gross reimbursement (before rebates) ≈ $120 per prescription (gross)

Summed across the 15 of 43 listed NDC products with Medicaid activity — every brand and generic of this exact strength & form. RxNorm 1722939

meropenem 500 MG Injection

3,069 Medicaid prescriptions (Q1–Q4 2025) 10% of Meropenem prescriptions shown $230,845 gross reimbursement (before rebates) ≈ $75 per prescription (gross)

Summed across the 12 of 43 listed NDC products with Medicaid activity — every brand and generic of this exact strength & form. RxNorm 1722934

meropenem 2000 MG Injection

375 Medicaid prescriptions (Q1–Q4 2025) 1% of Meropenem prescriptions shown $152,600 gross reimbursement (before rebates) ≈ $407 per prescription (gross)

Summed across the 2 of 6 listed NDC products with Medicaid activity — every brand and generic of this exact strength & form. RxNorm 2664894

Shares are of the Medicaid prescriptions shown here. Product grouping follows RxNorm (the National Library of Medicine’s drug terminology), so “one product” means one strength & dosage form regardless of manufacturer. Dollar figures are gross Medicaid reimbursement before mandatory rebates — rebates (often large, especially for brand-name drugs) are confidential, so actual net cost to Medicaid is lower than shown.

Source: Medicaid State Drug Utilization Data (CMS), aggregated by generic ingredient — summed across every NDC (all brands, strengths, salt forms and dosage forms) of Meropenem, and across all states and both fee-for-service and managed-care claims. A general popularity signal; it excludes Medicare, commercial insurance and cash prescriptions, so it is not total U.S. use. Based on the 29 of 92 listed Meropenem NDCs with Medicaid activity.

🔍 Compare Meropenem products

A representative set of FDA-listed product records for Meropenem — across manufacturers, strengths, and dosage forms, grouped by form with each product’s manufacturer and how the FDA approved it. The same medicine may be made and packaged by different companies, so a single drug can have many directory entries. (It’s also why a refill can look different — a new shape, color, or box — even though it contains the same medication.)

Showing 106 of 106 products — FDA National Drug Code Directory. See every product, package size and price: browse all 106 Meropenem NDCs →

RxNorm Concept Web — From Ingredient to Every Form and Strength

This page starts with one ingredient concept (IN). The branches below show its dose-form concepts (SCDF), then the available clinical drug and strength concepts (SCD). Combination products remain separate concepts with their own pages.

Ingredient (IN) Meropenem RxCUI 29561 1 dose form · 3 strengths
  1. Dose form (SCDF) Injection RxCUI 1722933 In current FDA listings
    Clinical drug / strength (SCD) 500 MG RxCUI 1722934 1000 MG RxCUI 1722939 2000 MG RxCUI 2664894

Look up RxCUI 29561 in the RxCUI Atlas →

RxNorm is the U.S. National Library of Medicine’s normalized drug vocabulary. Its concept hierarchy can include forms that are not currently marketed; the status on each branch compares that concept with current FDA listings. RxCUIs identify vocabulary concepts, not individual packages or manufacturers.

🏷️ Sold under these brand names

Merrem

🏭 Manufacturers & labelers

WG Critical Care, LLC 16 Hospira, Inc. 10 Brooks Steriscience Limited 7 Amneal Pharmaceuticals LLC 6 Xellia Pharmaceuticals USA LLC 6 Sandoz Inc 6 Hikma Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. 6 Fresenius Kabi USA, LLC 6 Civica, Inc 6 BluePoint Laboratories 6 Eugia US LLC 4 Gland Pharma Limited 4 Savior Lifetec Corporation 4 Armas Pharmaceuticals Inc 4 Daewoong America Inc. 2 Civica, Inc. 2 Qilu Antibiotics Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. 2 Sagent Pharmaceuticals 2 AuroMedics Pharma LLC 2 Sumitomo Pharma Co., Ltd. 2 Mylan Institutional LLC 1 Pfizer Laboratories Div Pfizer Inc 1 ACS Dobfar S.p.A 1

RxNorm drug class

Meropenem belongs to the Penem Antibacterial class.

Pharmacologic class Penem Antibacterial
Drug family (ATC) Carbapenems

Classified by RxNorm RxClass — the U.S. National Library of Medicine's standardized drug-classification service (Established Pharmacologic Class from the FDA, the ATC drug family from the WHO, and mechanism of action). Reference only, not medical advice.

🔬 Where this comes from

Core label, product, RxNorm, safety, and utilization data on this page come from the sources identified below. AI-written, editorial, and licensed sections are labeled separately.

📄
FDA-filed drug labels (SPL) Uses, dosing, warnings & side effects from SPL records retrieved through openFDA; the linked representative set can be verified on DailyMed. ✓ Linked label effective Sep 8, 2026
🏭
Forms, brands & labelersAggregated from ingredient-matched FDA National Drug Code Directory product records for Meropenem.
📈
Real-world reportsThe FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS), served through openFDA.
🚨
Recalls & shortagesopenFDA drug-enforcement reports and the FDA drug-shortage database.
🧾 Clinical label set — FDA-filed SPL labels retained for Meropenem after exact ingredient or ingredient-combination matching and applicable route/form matching
Clinical labels in scope
23
NDC products indexed
106
Distinct labelers/manufacturers represented
23
Linked representative label ⓘ
WG Critical Care, LLC
Linked label effective
Sep 8, 2026
Composite sections available
24
Linked SPL Set ID
240325ba-47a8-4ad1-bcab-6772069ee790
Linked SPL Document ID
622d20a6-1792-42fb-9a10-cb6515707d34
Open the linked representative label on DailyMed ↗
NDC package records associated with this linked SPL 1

How we combine label and product data

HelloPharmacist combines public FDA and NLM records; we don’t author the underlying clinical facts. We identified 23 FDA-filed SPL label sets within the page’s selected clinical scope after exact ingredient or ingredient-combination matching and applicable route/form matching. The representative label is the starting point for the displayed reference monograph; the 12 largest stored in-scope SPL records, which may include that representative, are compared section by section, and the longest available version of each section is retained. Forms, routes, brands, labelers, product-listed strengths, and product-record counts are aggregated separately from ingredient-matched FDA NDC Directory records; package records listed above are associated with the linked SPL; and the normalized concept hierarchy comes from NLM RxNorm.

For canonical ingredient pages, bounded product-attributed indication and administration excerpts may be added to the AI evidence, and the generator is instructed to preserve available product, brand, route, and form qualifiers instead of treating one label as universal. Where a section is identified as AI-written, its plain-language text is generated from bounded label evidence. New draft drug pages remain in the admin review queue before first publication. WG Critical Care, LLC is the representative DailyMed label linked for verification and dates; it is not the sole source used for the page.

This is general education, not medical advice — always consult your doctor or pharmacist about your medications and any medical condition. For the exact wording of the linked representative label, view that label on DailyMed; some displayed composite sections may come from other in-scope SPL labels. Learn how we use AI and our data sources & update cadence.