Daily Medication Pearl: Meropenem, Vaborbactam (Vabomere)

Medication Pearl of the Day: Meropenem and vaborbactam (Vabomere)

Indication: Meropenem and vaborbactam (Vabomere) is a combination of meropenem, which is a penem antibacterial, and vaborbactam, a beta-lactamase inhibitor. Meropenem and vaborbactam is indicated for the treatment of patients aged 18 years and older with complicated urinary tract infections (cUTI), such as pyelonephritis caused by designated susceptible bacteria.

Insight:

• Dosing: Administer meropenem and vaborbactam at 4 grams—with 2 grams of meropenem and 2 grams of vaborbactam—every 8 hours by intravenous infusion over 3 hours for up to 14 days, in patients aged 18 years and older with an estimated glomerular filtration rate of 50 mL/min/1.73m2 or greater.
• Dosage forms: Meropenem and vaborbactam at 2 grams for injection is supplied as a sterile powder for constitution in single-dose vials containing 1 gram of meropenem, which is equivalent to 1.14 grams of meropenem trihydrate, and 1 gram of vaborbactam.
• Adverse events (AEs): The most frequently reported AEs occurring in 3% or more of patients treated with meropenem and vaborbactam include headache, phlebitis/infusion site reactions, and diarrhea.
• Mechanism of action: The meropenem component of the combination treatment is a penem antibacterial drug. The bactericidal action of meropenem results from the inhibition of cell wall synthesis. Meropenem penetrates the cell wall of most gram-positive and gram-negative bacteria to bind penicillin-binding protein targets. The vaborbactam component of the combination treatment is a non-suicidal beta-lactamase inhibitor that protects meropenem from degradation by certain serine beta-lactamases such as Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase. Vaborbactam does not have any antibacterial activity, and it does not decrease the activity of meropenem against meropenem-susceptible organisms.

Source: vabomere-us-prescribing-information.pdf