Meropenem: uses, dosing, side effects & brands
Meropenem is a medicine sold in the U.S. under 2 brand and generic names. Below: what the FDA label says, every product that contains it, what the pills look like, and its recall record.
Key facts
- Available as
- Injectable · Powder
- Sold as
- 2 products — Merrem IV and Meropenem
- Prescription?
- Prescription only
- Generic available?
- Yes
Every meropenem product we track (2)
Same active ingredient — different manufacturer, form, price and FDA recall record. That last one is what our independent score measures.
| # | Drug | Rating | Type | Form | Generic? | Pharmacy pays | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 60/100 | Prescription | Injectable | No data | — | View → | |
| 2 | Not yet rated | Prescription | Injectable | No data | — | View → |
Combination products containing meropenem
A combination is a different drug — different dosing, different warnings. It is listed here so you can find it, not so you can substitute it.
How long meropenem keeps
No meropenem label we read sets a separate limit for after opening, but they do specify how it must be stored — and the stability behind any date assumes those conditions.
Meropenem and breastfeeding
From LactMed, the US National Library of Medicine’s Drugs and Lactation Database — quoted, not rewritten.
Full LactMed record for meropenem: levels in milk, effects in breastfed infants, and the drugs it would consider insteadAlthough no information is available on the use of meropenem during breastfeeding, milk levels appear to be low and beta-lactams are generally not expected to cause adverse effects in breastfed infants. Occasionally disruption of the infant's gastrointestinal flora, resulting in diarrhea or thrush have been reported with beta-lactams, but these effects have not been adequately evaluated. Vaborbactam, which is available in combination with meropenem in the product Vabomere, has not been studied in nursing mothers, but the combination is expected to have similar concerns as with meropenem alone.
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, record revised January 18, 2021. LactMed states its information is not a substitute for professional judgement.
What people report to the FDA about meropenem
The FDA Adverse Event Reporting System (FAERS) collects reports from patients and clinicians. It holds 34,270 reports naming meropenem, and the FDA flagged 97% of those reports as serious. The effects reported most often — leaving out reports about overdose, misuse or the condition being treated, which dominate the raw list for common medicines:
- pyrexia2,340 reports
- pneumonia1,618 reports
- sepsis1,515 reports
- septic shock1,500 reports
- acute kidney injury1,350 reports
- multiple organ dysfunction syndrome1,335 reports
- febrile neutropenia1,221 reports
- thrombocytopenia1,219 reports
Read these as a signal, not a rate. A report does not mean meropenem caused the effect — anyone can file one, and many describe people taking several medicines for several conditions. Crucially there is no denominator: FAERS does not record how many people took the drug, so these counts cannot be turned into “X% of patients” — a bigger number often just means a more widely used or more talked-about drug. Duplicates exist, and publicity drives reporting. For what is actually established, read the FDA label.
Source: openFDA drug/event (FAERS), retrieved September 25, 2026.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
Can you take meropenem with other medicines?
It depends on the medicine. We check it against the FDA labels rather than guessing: our interaction checker searches each drug's own label for the other and quotes what it says, naming the section it came from. Run meropenem against whatever else you take — and remember that a label not naming a drug is not the same as that combination being safe.
What brand names is meropenem sold under?
We track 2 meropenem-containing products in the U.S.: Merrem IV and Meropenem. They are the same active ingredient; they differ in form, manufacturer, price and FDA recall record.
What forms does meropenem come in?
Across the brands we track, meropenem is currently marketed as injectable and powder, per the FDA's National Drug Code Directory. Each form is dosed differently — follow the label for the exact product you were prescribed.
Is there a generic meropenem?
Yes. Our catalog lists 1 generic meropenem product alongside the brand versions. A generic has the same active ingredient and must meet the FDA's bioequivalence standard; it usually costs less. Ask your pharmacist which one your plan covers.
Cite this page
- APA
- pharmaranks. (2026, July 24). Meropenem: uses, dosing, side effects & brands. https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/meropenem
- MLA
- “Meropenem: uses, dosing, side effects & brands.” pharmaranks, 24 July 2026, https://pharmaranks.com/drugs/meropenem.
We summarise public FDA and NIH sources — for a clinical claim, cite the primary source we link to as well.
Sources: FDA openFDA drug label, National Drug Code Directory, and Enforcement (recall) database. This page reproduces public FDA data and is not medical advice. Dosing is set by your prescriber.
Read the full FDA label for meropenem on DailyMed (NIH) ↗.