Oral meropenem for superbugs: challenges and opportunities.

An increase in the number of multidrug-resistant microbial strains is the biggest threat to global health and is projected to cause >10 million deaths by 2055. The carbapenem family of antibacterial drugs are an important class of last-resort treatment of infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria and are only available as an injectable formulation. Given their instability within the gut and poor permeability across the gut wall, oral carbapenem formulations show poor bioavailability.