Merck has stopped manufacturing and marketing Recarbrio, an antibiotic that targeted multidrug-resistant infections.
The FDA approved Recarbrio (cilastatin sodium, imipenem and relebactam) in July 2019 for adults with complicated urinary tract infections or complicated intra-abdominal infections who have limited or no treatment alternatives. About a year later, Recarbrio was also indicated for hospital-acquired bacterial pneumonia and ventilator-associated bacterial pneumonia, and in late 2025, was approved for pediatric patients.
On Sept. 30, a Merck spokesperson told Becker’s the decision to discontinue Recarbrio “is not related to any product safety or quality issues.” The spokesperson did not respond to Becker’s questions about why Merck decided to discontinue the medication and when it made the decision.
“We estimate remaining inventory within Merck control of Recarbrio for the U.S. market will be depleted in late September 2026, after which it will no longer be commercially available excluding wholesale supply,” the spokesperson said.
Brad Spellberg, MD, chief medical officer at the Los Angeles General Medical Center, told the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy that he is not surprised by the drugmaker’s decision.
Recarbrio is “not in any way meaningfully differentiated from multiple other drugs on the market,” Dr. Spellberg told CIDRAP. “This drug was never going to be used.”
