Meropenem is an ultra-broad spectrum injectable antibiotic used to treat a wide variety of infections, including meningitis and pneumonia. It is a beta-lactam and belongs to the subgroup of carbapenem, similar to imipenem and ertapenem. Meropenem was originally developed by Sumitomo Pharmaceuticals. It is marketed outside Japan by AstraZeneca with the brand names Merrem® and Meronem®. Other brand names include Mepem® (Taiwan) and Meropen® (Japan, Korea). It gained FDA approval in July 1996. It penetrates well into many tissues and body fluids including the cerebrospinal fluid, bile, heart valves, lung, and peritoneal fluid.