Description
Imipenem is an intravenous β-lactam antibiotic. It is the first member of the carbapenem class of antibiotics. Imipenem is discovered via a lengthy trial-and-error search for a more stable version of the natural product thienamycin, which is produced by the bacterium Streptomyces cattleya. Imipenem has a broad spectrum of activity against aerobic and anaerobic, Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. It is particularly important for its activity against Pseudomonas aeruginosa and the Enterococcus species, but it is not active against MRSA