We report here the antibacterial activity of the new penem antibiotic Men 1
0700 against a total of 740 gram-positive and gram-negative clinical isolat
es, in comparison to imipenem, meropenem, cefotaxime, ceftriaxone, ciproflo
xacin and gentamicin. Men 10700 has shown a wide spectrum of antibacterial
activity, with a potent activity both against gram-positive species (with t
he exception of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococ
cus epidermidis) as indicated by minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC90) v
alues less than or equal to 0.5 mg/l, and gram-negative species, with MIC90
values generally less than or equal to 2 mg/l. Men 10700 was the most pote
nt antibiotic against methicillin-susceptible S. aureus and S. epidermidis,
while the overall spectrum of activity resembled that of imipenem; meropen
em was more active against most gram-negative species. In comparison with t
hird-generation cephalosporins, Men 10700 demonstrated superior activity ag
ainst methicillin-susceptible S. aureus and S. epidermidis and some gram-ne
gative species such as Morganella morganii, Serratia spp. and Enterobacter
cloacae; moreover, in contrast to third-generation cephalosporins, Men 1070
0 showed moderate activity against Enterococcus spp. The activity of Men 10
700 against penicillin-resistant Streptococcus pneumoniae (10 strains) and
some gram-negative strains selected for their resistance to cefotaxime (20
strains) was particularly interesting. Copyright (C) 1999 S. Karger AG. Bas
el.