ENCOURAGING RESULTS FOR ZENECA'S MERREM

Zeneca's Merrem/Meronem (meropenem) is efficacious and well tolerated in a number of infectious diseases, according to nine papers presented at the International Congress of Chemotherapy, held in Stockholm, Sweden, earlier this month.

In one of the papers, Dr H Pelser, from Bloemfontein University in South Africa, presented comparative data on the compound versus cephalosporins in the treatment of bacterial meningitis.

A total of 177 patients were enrolled in the trial. 90 patients received 40mg/kg of Merrem every eight hours, up to a maximum of 6g/day. The other 87 patients were randomized to receive either 75mg/kg of cefotaxime every eight hours (64) or 100mg/kg of ceftiaxone per day (23). All patients were treated for a mean of ten days. 90% of participants in the study tested positive on cerebrospinal fluid cultures (CSF).