Recarbrio discontinued from US market

Merck has discontinued Recarbrio (imipenem/cilastatin/relebactam) in the United States, effective September 26, 2026. The company said the decision was part of an ongoing portfolio review and was not related to any safety, quality, or effectiveness concerns.

Recarbrio was approved for the treatment of hospital-acquired and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia, complicated urinary tract infections, and complicated intra-abdominal infections. The combination of imipenem/cilastatin and the beta-lactamase inhibitor relebactam was developed to address multidrug-resistant Gram-negative pathogens, including some carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales (CRE) that produce Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC).

Although several alternative agents active against KPC-producing CRE remain available, including ceftazidime-avibactam, meropenem-vaborbactam, and cefiderocol, infectious disease experts note that the loss of Recarbrio may have the greatest impact in selected cases of multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In such infections, imipenem/relebactam has been considered a preferred treatment option in some treatment guidelines.

Sources: Merck (2026 Sep 30); CIDRAP (2026 Sep 29). Merck pulls antibiotic for multidrug-resistant infections from US market